All We Have
by poeticgrace
Summary: When Michael is shot and fighting for his life, Carly turns to Jason, the one man that has been there since the beginning. JARLY
1. Chapter 1

_Michael's been shot._

Hours later, the words echoed in Carly's mind as she sat huddled alone in a corner of the emergency room at General Hospital. She had been waiting all night for word on her oldest son, hoping against hope for yet another miracle when it came to the health and safety of her family. Every once in awhile, some one would muster enough courage to approach her, timidly asking if there was anything she wanted. The last thing on her mind was a cup of tepid coffee or the list of people yet to be called. There were already a group of people lining the hard plastic chairs on the other side of the room. Her mother, Lulu, Max, Milo, Jerry, Alexis…they were all there waiting with the family for word on Michael.

Ass he scanned the row of family and friends, her eyes fell upon Sonny. They had fought earlier, screaming at each other like they so often had. However, they had never been on opposite sides when it came to their children. She was angry at herself for blaming Sonny, but what was her alternative? She couldn't put a face or a name to the bastard who had shot her little boy, and she needed someone to hate. Carly had threatened to make sure that he would never put her children in danger, but right now, she was too exhausted to feel remorse for her words. They would deal with that later. Right now, her mind was wrapped up in her children, the redhead fighting for his life and the brunette at home oblivious to what was happening to his family.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the wall and said yet another prayer for something to happen. She could take whatever was thrown at her as long as she knew what was coming. Playing the waiting game had never been her strong suit, and this surgery was definitely the longest round of limbo she'd ever seen. Nurses and doctors shuffled in and out of the operating room, none of them able to give the answers she so desperately needed. There were only two things that could give her any solace right now, and until she received word on Michael, only one of them was remotely possible.

"Jax called a few minutes ago to say that there is still bad weather at the airport," Lulu reported as she came up to Carly. She peered down at her cousin with eyes full of anxiety and fear. She wanted to reassure Carly that everything was going to be fine, but she couldn't find the strength to lie right now. "He's trying to get here."

"I don't care," Carly snapped. She hadn't thought about her husband once since getting the news. Her first reaction hadn't been to call Jax at all. As soon as she had received word, she had immediately called Jason. Without another word, she stood up and disappeared, leaving a confused Lulu in her wake.

Instinctively, Carly turned down the empty corridor to find him. She knew exactly where he would be. They had always had a way of finding each other when they needed. He had found her the night the tunnel collapsed and the night of the hotel fire. They had always been able to find their way back to each other. Tonight, more than ever, she needed to know that they still would. Nothing in the world made sense right now except that connection. It was the only thing she knew for certain that she could count on.

She saw him before he knew that she was there, staying behind to watch him gazing through the glass window at her little boy. _Their_ little boy, those had been her words when she had seen him. Carly started to say something, but as if sensing her presence, Jason turned around and met her stare. His icy blue eyes were brimming with tears as he started toward her. She ran toward him, meeting him halfway. Jason wrapped her into him tightly, murmuring something inaudibly into her blonde hair. "He's fighting, Carly," he whispered. "He's fighting like hell to come back to us. We just have to keep fighting for him. We can do this, you and me, as long as we stick together."

Carly nodded insistently as he led her over to the observation window. She knew that they weren't' supposed to be back here, but there was nowhere else they could be. She needed to be with Michael and Jason more than anything in the world. They were her beginning, the family that began the amazing life she had been blessed with over the last decade. "I don't know how to do this without him," she whispered as they stared through the glass. Jason reached up and touched the glass with his free hand, holding on tightly to her with the other arm. "Jase, we can't lose him."

Turning to her, she had never seen his eyes filled with more fire. "We are not going to lose our little boy," he promised. He didn't know how he could be so sure, but Jason knew that God was not going to take Michael from them. "He just needs to know that we are here, Carly. I need you to be strong right now. If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for me. I know that you would do anything for me, so I need you to prove it right now."

She didn't reply as she turned into his chest again, burying her face in the soft cotton of his faded t-shirt. She clung desperately to his leather jacket, her fingers finding their home in the worn fabric. Cradling her fragile frame close to him, he stared over her head at the little boy fighting for life just a few feet away. As he closed his eyes, he could recall the first moment he ever held Michael. He had felt so small in his palm, just a shock of flame red hair on top of his head. Between having a son and falling in love with his best friend, it was the first sense of family he could ever remember. That feeling was what had guided every single action over the last several years, and it wasn't something he was about to give up on.

Just a few hours before, he had been kissing Elizabeth in his living room, set on spending the rest of his life with her and his son. He had truly believed that he loved her, but the moment he heard Carly's eerily calm voice on the other end of the line, he knew that everything was about to change. His entire world shifted and he knew in an instant how quickly he could lose everything that he counted on. His first instinct was to be with her. He knew that he needed her just as much as she needed him. He could fight all the other emotions he had when it came to her, but there was no denying their mutual need for each other. Along with Jake, Carly and the boys were his entire life. He wanted to love Elizabeth, but he knew that he would never love the nurse like he loved her.

None of that seemed to matter now as he held Carly's hand in the hallway. She lifted her left hand to wipe away the tears falling down her face. The fluorescent light overhead caught her sizable diamond ring and cast a reflection on the wall. Huffing to herself, she yanked the ring and shoved it into her pocket. She didn't want to think about anyone or anything other than what was right in front of her. Seeing what she had done and knowing her better than anyone, Jason let go of her right hand and took the other. Reaching up, he wiped away the last remaining tears with the pad of his thumb. "I know."

"I know you do," she retorted, speaking a language in which they were the only two that were fluent. "I'm sorry that I screamed at Sonny. I know that you told me not to yell or throw things, but I couldn't listen to him do that. I don't really blame him, Jase, but I will not stand for him blaming you. You would give your life for the boys and me. If it wasn't for you, Sonny wouldn't even be a father to Michael. You were there in the beginning, just the three of us. Doesn't he know that you would be there if this was the end?"

"Don't even think about that right now. It doesn't matter what Sonny says," Jason assured her. "The only thing that matters is that the three of us are together right now. Michael knows that we're here, Car. When he wakes up, we're going to be together again. I promise you that we are going to be together."

She trusted Jason because he would never make a promise that he couldn't keep. He had never let her down and only lied to her once. He would never lie to her about her son, their son. Just as Carly was about to say something, Bobbie came rushing up to them. Turning around in Jason's embrace, she looked at her mother. "Jax is here. He's in the waiting room looking for you. Should I send him in?"

"No, she'll come out there when she's ready," Jason answered for her. He had always known what Carly needed even when she didn't. "For now, his place is out there. Please, Bobbie, I know he is going to be angry, but you have to keep everyone else out of here."

"I don't even want Sonny back here," Carly added. "I just need to be alone with Jason right now."

Bobbie knew better than to argue with her headstrong daughter. No one had ever been able to break the connection between Carly and Jason. Many had come and gone, trying to penetrate the relationship, but they had all failed. Not even Sonny, the man she had loved so completely and his best friend, had been a match for the undeniable force that was Carly and Jason together. They needed each other to get through this in a way that no one could comprehend. "I'll make sure that you're not disturbed until there is word on Michael," she vowed with a curt nod. "We're all out there pulling for you."

"Thanks, Mama," Carly whispered as the redhead disappeared in the opposite direction. The strawberry tint of her hair matched Michael's perfectly; he was very much a Spencer and a little bit of a Quartermaine. He was a Morgan and a Corinthos. He was everything to so many people. Her boys were the best of all of them. "I don't know how I am going to tell Morgan. Oh, God, Jase, I just want to see my little boy."

"Not right now, Carly, we can't," Jason reminded her. "When you are stronger, I will take you to see him. I'll make sure that Lulu and Spinelli go to stay with him. He loves Spinelli, so that will keep him occupied."

"They can't stay at the house," she declared suddenly. She hadn't even thought about his safety. "What if he is next? He might not be safe there. Everyone is here. I can't believe I didn't think about this before now."

"Max will take them to my penthouse where they will be safe. Once we know that Michael is stable, I will take you back there to sleep for awhile and then we will come back here. I am not going to leave you until everything is alright."

"You've never left me," she whispered. "You were the first person I had to call, Jase. I didn't think of my husband. The only person I needed was you. I had to know that you were going to be there waiting when I got to GH. I knew I couldn't get through this without you."

He nodded silently. "We can't get through this without each other, and we won't have to," he promised again. "Do you remember when I promised that I would always catch you? Well, we're going to have to catch each other, Car. We have to be strong for each other. You are the strongest person I know, and I wouldn't trust anyone else to get me through this. I know that I told you that this is the hardest thing you've ever been through, but I know that you're going to survive just like Michael is. He's just like his mother."

"You're the one who taught us to be strong," she reminded him. "Without you, I would have never even gotten to know Michael. You gave me my son. I don't think I could ever thank you enough for that first year of his life."

"You gave me a son," he replied. "Everything that I know about being a good father and a loving man is because of you, Carly. That year with Michael is still the best year of my life. The only thing that even begins to compare with holding Jake for the first time was that night in the hospital. I've made a lot of hard choices in my life, but my decision to save you when you were in labor stands out above all the rest. That moment has determined everything I have done sense. I don't know what my life would be like if Michael hadn't come along. No one has ever understood why I lied about being his father but it's because I knew. I knew that he was going to change my life."

Carly smiled dreamily, thinking about that time in her life that no one else could understand but her best friend. It was something that was completely theirs. "When he gets better, let's take him to Africa for a safari. I think it's time that we finally show him all those places that you read to him about," she decided. "Jake probably shouldn't go, but the four of us could go. We'd have an amazing time."

"Michael always loved the giraffes best," he reminisced.

"For Morgan, it was the elephants," she giggled through the tears.

"Now we have something to look forward to," Jason told her brightly, pressing a tender kiss to the top of her head. He didn't think that anything would bring a smile to his face but thoughts of the boys laughing danced in his mind and brought unexpected joy in a dark moment. They stood like that together for a moment, dreaming an alternate reality where they were already halfway across the world. "I can't wait."

"Excuse me," Epiphany announced from the doorway. "I'm sorry, but Dr. Drake is asking that you return to the waiting room. I promise that we will come get you both as soon as we know something."

Carly started to argue but Jason grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. She nodded dutifully and allowed him to lead her out of view of the OR. "I don't want to go back in there and have everyone stare at me, Jase. I don't want to have to pretend with anyone right now. I don't want to talk to anyone else. I just want to be with you near Michael."

"I won't let them get to you," he proclaimed. "We will just go in there and sit in the corner. I've always protected you, Car, you just have to trust me to do that now." She nodded to indicate that she did. He wove his arm firmly around her waste and guided her back into the waiting room. Her family stood up, poised for news, but he shook his head quickly. Jax stepped forward but Jason held his hand out firmly. "Not now."

"Jason, they are my…" Jax started.

Jason whirled around and looked into his eyes icily. Carly flinched at his sudden reaction but proceeded silently to the corner. "Do not finish that sentence," Jason ordered. "You were not here. You left. She didn't call you. You are not the one she wanted to be with her here. You are not the one she needs. Don't pretend that this is something that it's not. Just do what I say and this will a hell of a lot easier on everyone."

Everyone was stunned by Jason's firm speech. Just as quickly as he had gone off, he returned to his reserved state and took the empty chair by Carly's side. She didn't look at anyone else as she curled into him, resting her head on his chest. "Thank you," she whispered. She had almost collapsed when Jax had started to say something, her knees wobbling frantically as she struggled for some kind of firm footing. She couldn't stand a battle, but she didn't want him to comfort her. She wouldn't believe it. The only thing she believed was Jason. "You know you're the one…"

He smiled and laid another kiss on top of her soft blonde hair. "I need you too," he whispered into her ear. That was the truth. He had never needed anyone, but he needed Carly. She was his clarity, his one true north. It shouldn't make sense given everything they had been through, but it did. If they got through this…no, _when_ they got through this, he was going to make a lot of changes in his life. "Thank you for letting me be the one that you needed. Thank you for calling me."

It was second nature for her to call him. Even after she had married Jax, he was still the first person in her speed dial and on her in case of emergency list. He was also first on the boys' list. He was there constant, and amazingly enough, they were his. This thought was on her mind when she looked up and saw Patrick Drake standing in the doorway. She shot up instantly and turned to Jason. "Help me count to ten, Jase," she pleaded. It was his trick for helping her find peace. "I don't remember how, count for me."

Standing close to her, he counted the numbers into her ear, his voice barely above a whisper. Everyone watching wondered why they weren't approaching the doctor or what Jason was saying to her. It was understood that no one would ask questions until she was ready, not even Sonny. They all knew somehow that there place was behind Carly and Jason and that they needed to be the ones to take the lead. When he finally reached ten, she entangled her fingers in Jason's and stepped forward.

"I have bad news."


	2. Chapter 2

The doctor had come and gone without any significant news. Michael was still fighting for his life just as he had been from his very first moment on this earth. He was like his mother in that way, almost as if they were trying to prove that they deserved to be alive. Tenacity had long defined them, both as individuals and as a collective family. That fire was the first thing that ever drew Jason to Carly, and more than ten years later, he knew that it was what kept him hanging on. Against any and all odds, he could count on her to come out stronger in the end. They had defied all convention together, and as he sat beside her in the sterile waiting room at General Hospital, he knew deep in his heart that they would be able to do it again.

Carly sat stoically beside Jason, her ankles crossed and her hands folded neatly in her lap. As always, his first reaction was to comfort her. Reaching for her hands, he gave her the only solace that he knew would mean anything. She turned to him with a slight smile and relaxed visibly under his touch. He was her lifeline, the vital pulse helping her to get through this.

Caught up in her own thoughts, Carly knew that she should go to Sonny and Jax to tell them what she knew about her son but she didn't really want to. She wanted to keep it between her and Jason, devoid of any contrived concern. Whether it was fair or not, the grief was hers and Jason's. She couldn't stand the thought of having to share this with anyone else. This was one situation where sonny couldn't fix it with his power and Jax couldn't just throw money at it. Somehow, Carly knew that Michael needed his parents, his true parents, if they had any hope of getting through this at all.

"I want to see him," Jason announced beside her. His need to see Michael was overwhelming and immediate. "Come with me to see him, Car, please. He needs us there."

He didn't have to ask her twice to come with him. Carly would have followed Jason anywhere. Hell, she already had over and over again. They were forever showing up for each other just as they would always be there for their boys – Michael, Morgan and Jake. What was hers was his and vice verse. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary what they were doing at the hospital that night, that's simply who Jason and Carly were together.

"He looks so tiny," she murmured as they peered together through the window. Michael lay lifelessly in the bed, an intricate network of tubes and cords spread across his body. She could hear the beeping of his heart monitor over the numbing buzz of the hospital. "Look at our little boy in there, Jase. What kind of monster could do this?"

For the first time in their long friendship, he had no words of explanation. Even after all the things Jason had seen and lived through, he still couldn't imagine a world without Michael. There was no logic or rationale to how anyone could ever hurt him. They had always lived by a code where children and women were not targets. Someone had come along now and changed all that. For the longest time, he thought that he couldn't leave this life behind. He viewed it as the core of who he was, but now, he knew that he had never been so wrong. His job meant so little in comparison to the people that he loved, most notably Carly and their boys. In the world's eyes, through biology, he may only have one son, but they both knew better. Jason Morgan was the father of three sons, and from this moment forward, that would be the one thing that led everything in his life.

"I am so sorry that I let this happen," Jason whispered as he rested his cheek against the cold glass. He couldn't help but feel responsible for what had happened. He had always promised to protect them, but he had fallen short. He should have been there, but he wasn't. "If I had been more careful that night I fought with Diego…if I had insisted on having the surgery here…I shouldn't have left, Carly. I knew the situation was volatile. I should have protected Michael. This is my fault."

Carly felt the anger from earlier bubbling to the surface. She hated her ex-husband for ever making Jason believe that this was his fault. "Do not blame yourself!" she nearly shouted. "Look at me, Jase." He heard the pleading in her tone as he turned to regard her. Tears were brimming in her wide eyes, portals that were always capable of taking him to the greatest place he had ever known. "You went to Seattle so that you could protect us. This is not your fault. This isn't even Sonny's fault. Some psychopath targeted Sonny and Michael was in the way. He shouldn't have ever been at the warehouse. There are a lot of factors that had to align for this to happen. None of them lead back to you."

He wanted to believe her because he knew she thought it to be true. Short of actually pulling the trigger himself, Carly would never blame Jason for what had happened. She believed in the best of him, the part of himself he reserved only for her. No matter what happened, that was the part she was able to see when everyone else told her that he was dangerous. She knew that the safest place she could ever be was by his side. He loved her beyond words for that reason alone. "I just feel like I let you down," he admitted. "When you were shot in the head the night you gave birth to Morgan, I told myself that was the hardest thing I would ever have to go through. I've been surrounded by danger for so long, but until that night, I was never really scared. Then, when I lost Em, I thought that I had finally paid for my transgressions."

"Michael wasn't shot to punish you," she countered. She knew that bullet wasn't meant for her son. It was meant for Sonny. "I am so grateful that you had that surgery. All night, we've been talking about strength. I need you to be at your strongest right now and not because I want you to go out and get revenge. You're my safety net and this is one of the biggest things we've ever been up against. Your arms are going to have to be awfully strong to catch me because when I fall, I have a long way to go."

Jason thought about the million scenarios they had been through together, the incredible odds that they had had to overcome. The only time he could remember that was worse than this was when the kids were kidnapped. Living each day without knowing if Michael, Kristina and Morgan were alive and well had been hell for Sonny, Carly, Jason and Alexis. And then when they had believed that Michael might be dead, it had nearly torn them apart. The only people that had held onto hope were Jason and Carly. They were connected to him in a way that no one else could be. "At least we know where he is and what we're up against," he sighed as he averted his gaze back to the boy. A white gauze bandage was wrapped tightly around his head. "This time we get to be with him. This time he doesn't have to go through this alone."

"When he does wake up, I am going to have to make a lot of big decisions and changes," she commented as she headed toward the opposite wall to sit on the empty bench. Jason watched her for a moment before sitting beside her. She turned her body toward him, needing to feel his skin on hers. It was a simple desire to be comforted by his touch. "I can't risk the boys' lives anymore. Sonny has been a good father, but I can't go on pretending that this danger doesn't exist. I wanted them to have normalcy, but that's just not possible. Even surrounded by guards, the house isn't safe for them."

"We'll take any and every precaution we need to in order to make sure that you are safe," he promised. "I can have the penthouse converted across the hall by the time Michael gets out of the hospital. You and Jax can move the boys in and we'll double up on security."

She nodded, knowing and trusting that he would keep them safe. "Honestly, I don't care what Jax wants. My priority is the boys. Jase, you have to make sure that Jake is safe, too," she told him. "I don't regret for a single moment the life that I chose with Sonny because it gave me all of this, but I know that not everyone can survive it. Sonny is a good man and a good father. He would give his life for the boys, but I am afraid that they will have to give their lives for him at some point. I deal with that fact every day."

For months, that thought had kept Jason awake at night. He never wanted his son to have to pay like Michael and Morgan already had. However, he couldn't deny that he was a father any longer. His desire to love and care for Jake was even stronger now that he had seen how quickly it could all slip through his fingers. Elizabeth might not like it, but Carly was right. "I know that I could be a good father. I am going to start proving that."

Carly cocked her head and smiled. It was one of the few he had seen play upon her lips since they had arrived earlier. "Can I make a confession?" she asked. Jason nodded his permission, eager to see what Carly had for him that he didn't already know. "For the longest time, that's what has made me hate Elizabeth so much. I knew that you could fall in love with her so easily, but contrary to popular belief, I was never jealous of that. I knew that you would always be there for me because the connection we have goes beyond everything else in either of our lives. I didn't like her because I knew that she would promise you the world and then snatch it away when things got too hard or she saw something that she didn't like. Sure, she would have a valid reason, but I don't think there should be any conditions or excuses placed on love. I don't care what happens, I could never walk away from you."

"I know," he said immediately, and he did know. If he'd let her, she'd lay her life on the line to save him. She would fight right beside him. She would never deny him his rightful place in her life because she was scared of the repercussions. She would trust him to make sure that those repercussions never touched her. Carly was many things to many people, but to Jason, she was everything that Elizabeth was not. "You were right about something."

"Well, of course I was," she deadpanned. "Just to clarify, which time?"

He had to laugh at her swagger. Even when she was so wrong, Carly believed in herself. She trusted in her reasoning and in her plans, and sometimes, she even managed to convince himself to believe. "When I had that first surgery, I did have that dream about playing pool with you at Jakes," he confessed. Carly grinned at him knowingly. She had never once doubted it. "I don't know if I really believe in soul mates, but I believe in what we have. It doesn't have to make sense to be real."

There was a sense of calm between them for a moment before Michael's monitor started to wail. They rushed immediately to the window to see what was going on. A team of doctors and nurses flooded into the room before Epiphany pulled the shade. Elizabeth appeared outside the door. "We need for you to go back to the waiting room."

"I don't really care what you need," Carly spat angrily. She wasn't about to leave her son alone. Elizabeth looked to Jason for assistance, but his jaw was set in defiance. He wasn't going to drag Carly out of there until he knew what was going on. If something was really wrong with Michael, he needed to be there. Michael had to sense their presence. "We are going to stay right here. If you don't like that, you can have security come up here and escort us out."

"Carly, please," Elizabeth pleaded. She was just trying to do her job, and as much as she sympathized with Carly, she knew that the doctors couldn't do what they needed to do with them right there. "You need to go outside."

"I don't think you heard her," Jason stated evenly. "We do not plan on leaving this hallway until we know what is going on with Michael. The fastest way to make that happen is to get back in there and find out yourself." She was slightly taken aback by his rough response, but she knew that Jason was in hell right now. Ducking her head, she only nodded dutifully, knowing that she had been put into her place. Once they were alone again, Carly turned to Jason frantically. "Just one more bump to get through, Carly. Keep holding on with me, we're going to make it out of here."

They sat quietly for a few more minutes before one by one, the nurses and doctors filed out of Michael's room. Carly was trying to be patient, focusing on the small circles Jason was rubbing across her back rather than the things that they weren't being told. Elizabeth exited the room, glancing at the two on the bench before disappearing in the direction of the waiting room. Finally, Patrick Drake came out of the room, his lips tight and his face devoid of any real emotion.

Jason helped Carly stand up. Wrapping his arm around her slender waist, he held her for support just in case the news wasn't good. "Just tell us," Carly begged as Patrick stood in front of them.

"I am not going to lie to you. The prognosis isn't good," he explained. "Michael's brain activity is very low. It's possible that he may never even regain consciousness. The next 48 hours will tell us a lot. He's stable for now, but I have no way of predicting what is going to happen. Everything is very touch and go right now."

"When can we see him?" Jason asked, voicing the question on both their minds.

Patrick looked back at the room. "You can look in on him now, but I won't be able to let you in the room for awhile. I know it's hard, Carly, but I need for you both to be patient and positive right now," he said. "I am going to do everything I can to save your little boy, I promise. There are going to be some very tough decisions you are going to have to make, but I will do my best to make sure that you are informed from every angle so that you can make the best one possible."

"Thank you," Carly retorted dismissively. Patrick excused himself after promising to find them once he had the results of the latest round of tests. When they were alone again, Carly knew that she was going to break down again. Jason must have sense it too because he had scooped her off her feet before she could collapse. "How can I make these choices?"

"We can make them together," Jax called out from the end of the hall. Carly had buried her face in Jason's chest but slowly lifted her head to look at her husband. Elizabeth was next to him with Sonny on the other side. "You are not going through this alone. We are his parents, Carly. Sonny, you and me can do this."

"You are not going to tell me what to do with my son," Sonny sneered icily.

Carly retreated back inside herself as they began to argue, both laying claim and ownership to the family. Elizabeth stood poised between them, believing that she needed to be here for Jason but not knowing her place exactly. Jason was beginning to shake with anger. The entire situation was getting out of hand, and he was angry at Elizabeth for bringing them there. He turned away from them to sit Carly down on the bench. Leaning down, he laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I will take care of this," he promised with a whisper before stalking down the hallway toward the two men. "Listen here because I am only going to say this once. Michael is in there fighting for his life, and the last thing she needs is either one of you in here. If she wanted you back here, she would have asked you. This family isn't something that you can own. It's something that you are blessed to even be apart of. Now, go back to the waiting room and sit there quietly. If you can't do that, you might as well just go home. And if you won't go, I will put you out of here myself."

Jax was about to argue when he noticed how fragile his wife was. "If she needs me…"

"If Carly asks for you, I will get you myself," Jason told him. "Same with you, Sonny. The minute Michael wakes up I will have someone get you. Until then, you just need to let Carly stay back here. He needs her strength right now, and whether you like it or not, she needs mine."

Neither of them really said much as they filed out of the hallway. Elizabeth looked at him compassionately, reaching out to rest her hand on his arm. He recoiled at her touch, pulling away as if she had burned him. "Do not touch me and do not pull a stunt like that again," he ordered. "Now, if you will excuse me, my family needs me."

As Elizabeth watched him walk away from her, she knew that she had lost a part of Jason forever. She had seen him look at her with love before, but it would never compare to the completeness that he offered to Carly. Leaning against the wall, she saw the way Jason lifted her back into his arms and held her, rocking her gently. She could hear him comforting her, whispering things to make her smile. It was clear that the only thing between them was love. The past, the danger, the limits – none of it mattered. Carly unconditionally loved Jason. It was the one thing that Elizabeth would never be able to give him, and it was the one thing that Jason needed most. Everyone always thought that Carly needed Jason, but in that private moment, Elizabeth finally saw what Carly must have seen all along. Jason needed her.


	3. Chapter 3

In the hours after Michael arrived at General Hospital, his family and their friends had filled the waiting room to its capacity. However, as the hours wore on and evening turned to night, one by one they made their way home. Each of them left with promises of prayers and good thoughts, a look of sadness or condolence painted across their faces. Carly did her best to put on a brave, gracious front, thanking them for their support and promising to call if they received any news. Emotionally drained from the overwhelming stress of the day, she was going through the motions to get herself through the ordeal. Jason played the caretaker roll as he sat dutifully by her side, answering questions and taking care of any paperwork that needed to be filled out. He was strong in the places where she couldn't be and knew that it was his responsibility to keep her spirits lifted and her outlook optimistic.

In doing so, nearly everyone believed that he was holding up amazingly well, but Carly could see right through it. She could see the anxiety and weariness in his clear blue eyes as he completed yet another insurance form. On more than one occasion, she had tried to take the paperwork from him but he insisted on doing it. In true Jason fashion, he didn't want to worry her with the unnecessary details. Instead, he told her to try to get some sleep or to go check on Morgan. She elected to do neither as Spinelli and Lulu had went with him to Jason's penthouse make sure that her youngest was fairing well and she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep for hours.

"Carly, you really should at least eat something," Jason told her as Max returned with two cups of coffee. Carly smiled politely as she took one from the bodyguard, cupping it in her palms. She really wasn't interested in the hot brew, but she sipped it anyways to make her best friend happy. "Is there anything else you want me to get you? I can have someone run by the house to get you some clothes or something."

"I'm fine, Jase," she insisted. She could tell that he was growing more and more tired by the minute, but he was too stubborn to fall asleep before her. "Actually, there is something that you can do for me. I know that you have to be exhausted. Why don't you get some rest? I'll be fine here if you want to run home or even take a nap in one of the rooms."

Jason shook his head vehemently. "I am not leaving you," he informed her. Carly knew there was no point in arguing by his firm tone. "Max, can you run down to the car and bring up the black tote bag in the trunk? There should be some stuff in there to hold us over for awhile. Then, you can take the rest of the night off. You should probably go home and get some rest. I'm sure we're going to be spending a lot of time here."

"Thanks, Boss," Max retorted before heading back toward the elevator. Carly watched silently after the burly man, thankful that he was so loyal to her family. He had protected them through the good times and the bad times, proving to be a faithful confidant to her on more than one occasion. The boys adored him as well, and he had become somewhat of an uncle to both Michael and Morgan. As he slipped into the elevator, he turned back and smiled at Carly. She took great comfort in the reassurance in his bright eyes.

As she turned back to Jason, she felt at ease as the quietness of the hospital fell over their cozy waiting room. "I want to bring Morgan here tomorrow," she decided. "I know that it might not be the best idea, but he needs to see his brother. He's old enough to notice something is wrong, and it's only a matter of time before he starts asking questions."

"Whatever you want to do," he obliged as Max came back. He took the bag and nodded dismissively at his friend. Setting it on the empty chair to his left, he unzipped the top flap and pulled out its contents one by one. "Now, I know that these are going to be a little baggy on you, but I think they should be comfortable enough."

Carly smiled as she took the oversized hooded sweatshirt and matching sweatpants from Jason. Her satin blouse and trousers had become wrinkled from hours of shifting around in the uncomfortable plastic chairs, so the change in clothing was a welcomed reprieve. "I'll be back," she promised before heading off toward the bathroom. Quickly, she discarded her day attire and changed into the hoodie and pants. She could smell Jason on her as she snuggled against the soft material. They were far too big on her but with a little maneuvering, she managed to make the outfit decent before returning to the waiting room.

While she was gone, Jason had taken the opportunity to lean back against the wall for a few moments and rest his eyes. He would never admit to her just how tired he felt, but he was beyond exhausted. Still, if she insisted on staying up, he would remain awake with her. When he felt her sit down next to him, his eyes snapped open and refocused immediately on her. "Even in baggy sweats, you manage to make it look good," he complimented her. She blushed slightly before resting her head on his shoulder. "Why don't you get some sleep now?"

"Actually, why don't we both get some sleep," she suggested. Moving down a chair, she sprawled out her legs in front of her before beckoning him toward her. Unsure of himself, Jason allowed her to guide his head into her lap. Raking her fingers through his hair, she began to gently lull him into a relaxed state. "I like when you let me take care of you."

Jason groaned involuntarily as she massaged her fingertips over his scalp. Her touch certainly had a calming effect on him, a rarity for the notoriously cold man. Few made him feel vulnerable but in Carly's hands, he was clay to be molded. "I feel like I could sleep for a month," he admitted as he relaxed into her further. After holding her all night, it was nice to be held.

"Sleep, Jase," she ordered. He struggled to open his eyes, wanting to look up at her one last time, but she persisted by brushing his eyelids closed with the pad of her thumb. He didn't even attempt to fight it a second time, instead allowing the wave of exhaustion to wash over his body. Before he knew it, he had slipped into a state of unconsciousness, leaving Carly alone to watch him sleep. Her peaceful reverie lasted only for a few minutes before he shot up to full attention. "It's okay, I'm here."

He turned to her and smiled softly. "We both have to get some sleep," he proclaimed. Without another word, he left Carly to talk to one of the nurses. Carly watched as Jason spoke to the young woman. He pointed toward a corridor and then nodded toward his best friend before returning to where they had set up camp. "I just got us a room. They only have one bed left, so we're going to have to share. I know it's not ideal, but I need you to get some sleep. I know you won't do it unless I sleep, too."

"You're right," she agreed as he proceeded to gather up their things. The nurse took them to the lone empty room and promised to find them if anything should happen to change with Michael. With their first privacy of the night, Carly slipped out of her tennis shoes and padded heavily over to the bed. Jason watched in amusement as she crawled onto the mattress, looking as innocent as a five-year-old. He hung back for a moment, gazing at her from the doorway. Only when she was comfortable did she regard him again. "Come on in, Jase."

He chuckled at the invitation as he discarded his shoes and jacket. Carly peeled back the blanket to make room for him. "I hate these beds," he grumbled as he slid in next to her. He had spent hours upon hours in this place, first from the accident that had changed everything and then with his multiple work-related injuries. However, for the first time, he felt comfortable at General Hospital. It felt natural to have Carly in his bed. "Well, maybe I don't hate this bed."

Carly turned on her side automatically, resuming a pattern they had repeated in far too many years. She still remembered what it felt like to sleep with him, how his body fit to her curves perfectly. Jason turned behind her, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her firmly against him. He knew that she was a married woman, but he needed to feel that connection to her. Their entire world was turned upside down, and nothing made sense but her. It felt right to hold her. It had always felt right to hold her. For once, he didn't have to convince himself otherwise.

She felt him fall asleep long before she managed to find her own tiredness. In the first quiet moment she had alone, she finally allowed her mind to turn to God. Carly hadn't found religion growing up in the backwoods slum of a Florida trailer park. It wasn't until she came to New York and married Sonny that she finally embraced a faith that had always lived deep within her soul. She had been set on bringing up her children with a belief in something, and with their father's roots curiously but firmly set in Catholicism, she had taken the faith as her own. Every Sunday, the Corinthos family was a picture of expected perfection at the Queen of Angels. Sonny, Carly, Jason and the boys were there every week no matter what was happening.

However, as she laid there next to Jason, she couldn't grasp her faith. She had a hard time believing in a God that would allow such a horrific thing to happen to her precious son. She couldn't comprehend a reason for this. She had always tried to believe that everything happened for a reason, but there couldn't be one for this. Nothing could justify the hell her son was going through. Nothing could make better the pain dwelling in the hearts of Carly, Jason and Sonny. She refused to accept that this was the way their life was supposed to be.

From his side of the bed, Jason could feel Carly turning and shifting beside him. It was clear that she wasn't going to be able to sleep any time soon. He knew her well enough to know that her mind was racing. When she was finally able to have a moment alone to think, he had known that she would grow angrier. He knew that she would curse the world for letting this happen. Jason didn't blame her, but he didn't want her to put herself through this either. "Carly, why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" he asked into the dark. He saw her sit up and peer down at him.

"I never really had anything to believe in until I came to Port Charles," she tried to explain. "I was angry at the world for the life that I had been given. I never had enough in Florida, whether it was perceived or real. Virginia tried her best, but it was never what I needed. I always felt like I deserved so much more. When I came here, I was determined to make my mother's life hell and get back everything that I should have had. I would have done anything to make her pay or to get a leg up, and I guess that I did. But one night and a game of pool in a dive bar changed that."

Jason smiled mystically, remembering their first chance encounter at Jake's. Her eyes had been wild that night with determination, and he knew on sight that she was bound to wreck him. However, he knew that whatever damage she inflicted on him would be well worth it if he could only hold her for one night, one hour, one minute, one second. "You were exactly what I craved, this rare combination of danger and innocence," he remembered. "I had no idea how you would give me back my faith in the ability to feel."

There were no words that could express how deeply his sentiment touched her soul. "The first time I really knew that I believed in anything or anyone was that night I showed up at your door," she confessed. "Standing there in the rain, almost nine months pregnant, you saved me without thought or question. With your seemingly simple decision to be a father to my child, you made me believe in the good in someone. I knew then and there you would never forsake me. You never have."

"That's not entirely true," he pointed out, thinking about the lies he had told her over the past year. He had kept the most important part of his life from the most important person in his world, and nothing he could say or do would ever change that. However, in true Carly fashion, she could see past that for him. "But none of that matters right now. What matters is that we both believe in something, and above all else, we have believed in each other. I may not have always showed it or said it, but I know that you know that I always felt it."

"And right now, we have to believe in Michael," Carly said aloud. She needed to say it aloud again so that she could believe it. She had to hear it, have Jason hear it, to make it real. "He has to be okay, Jase, because we can't do this without him. We can't do this without."

"We're not going to have to," he promised her. A soft knock came at the door, breaking them both from the intimacy of the moment. Jason crawled from the best first to answer the door. Patrick and Robin were standing on the other side solemnly. He knew immediately that something was wrong when he looked into his ex-girlfriend's eyes. She was standing next to her new partner, her hands resting on her slightly swollen womb. "What's wrong with him, Robin?"

She looked at the floor, unable to meet his eyes. She didn't want to be the one to tell him the truth. She hated that she was going to have to break his heart. Rather than looking at him, she glanced up at Carly. The two women had long hated each other, mostly over the man that stood next to Carly's side. That had been the problem; he had always stood by her. Now, she felt nothing but compassion for the mother. Say what you wanted about her as a person, but Carly was a good mother. "We just got the test results back."

Patrick picked up where Robin left off, knowing that she wouldn't be capable of finishing. "I don't know how to tell you this, but I'm sorry, Carly," he apologized. "Michael's prognosis isn't good. The bullet caused a lot of tissue damage in his brain. It has significantly impacted the part of his brain that controls his motor skills. In fact, it is doubtful that he will ever regain consciousness. He will remain stable as long as he is at the hospital, but I don't really have much hope for much else."

Jason felt his legs give out immediately as he sank to the floor. Carly went to him immediately, wrapping her arms around him as she huddled with him. She could hear the doctors still speaking, but she was pushing the words out of her mind. There was no way she was going to accept what they were saying. "Don't you listen to them," she whispered into Jason's ear. "We never listened to the skeptics before, and we're not going to do that now. You have to listen to me. We have to hang in there for his sake. He wouldn't want us to give up. Michael wouldn't give up if it was you or me in there. You wouldn't give up on me, and I wouldn't give up on you. We can do this."

His body shook with tears, a rare vulnerable moment for him. He allowed the sobs to come for a few moments and let her comfort him publicly in front of two people who had just delivered the worst news imaginable. Then, with a deep sigh of resignation, he looked up at Robin. "You heard her," he shrugged. "We're not giving up on him. You do what you have to do to keep him alive. We'll just have to believe enough to take care of the rest."

Robin nodded as Patrick opened the door. She turned back to look at them both huddled together on the floor. "You don't have to pray for this alone," she whispered. "We're all pulling for him, Carly. Michael is loved by so many people, including me. I promise I will do everything I have to do to make sure he stays with us."

"Thank you," Carly murmured back, smiling at Robin for the first time in a long time. Even people who hated Carly still loved her son. It was a true testament to what an amazing soul he was. "Both of you, thank you."

When they were alone again, Carly reached up to wipe the tears away from Jason's face. He rested his cheek in her palm. "I am very proud of you," he murmured. "You are such a good mother. Just stay focused on putting him first, Car. That will sustain you long after the last person stops believing."

"Everything I know about being a good parent, I learned from you," she reminded him. "That will sustain us both long after everyone else has given up hope. We will still be there together, Jase, knowing that Michael is going to wake up. It's more than belief, it's complete and total faith."

"Let's go," he told her, helping her to her feet. They both headed down the hallway to Michael's room. Sonny was outside with Kate, watching through the large window as he slept. Jason kept his arm wrapped firmly around her to support her. They all stood silently together until a nurse came out to say that two people could come in to visit him. "Carly, you and Sonny should go in first."

"No," she insisted firmly. "That's not what Michael would want."

"I'm not letting him go in there before me," Sonny argued. "I'm his father."

"You're his father because Jason let you be his father," she said evenly and softly. "Jason was the first person that Michael ever saw. I want him to go in first, even before you and me. After that, I don't care who goes in and in what order. I just want our son to have all of the people that love him here. He is your son, he is my son, he is Jason's son."

Jason tried to convince her that she should go in first, but Carly was insistent. She knew in her bones that this was the right decision. Her heart was telling her how this needed to be handled, and she felt like if she could trust herself, maybe it would turn out the way that she needed it to be. "Please, Jase, go to him."

Looking to his partner, Jason was surprised to see Sonny nod his permission. "Tell him that we love him," Sonny implored. "Tell him that we all love our son."


	4. Chapter 4

Jason hated to leave Carly alone with sonny given everything that was going on, but he was glad that she had asked him to spend time with Michael. He hadn't really had a minute alone with him since the accident, and there were so many thoughts tumbling around inside his head that he needed to get out. As he slowly sat down at his bedside, Jason remembered the first time that he ever held Michael in his arms. He looked as small and innocent now as he did then. Looking back, it was only now that Jason could see how things had gone so wrong.

"Hey, Buddy," he whispered, leaning forward intently to take Michael's hand. It was warm and showed signs of life, but he didn't squeeze Jason's fingers back. "You know you have a lot of people out there fighting for you. What good does that do us now? We should have been fighting for you before this even happened. I am so sorry that I wasn't there. It doesn't matter why I was gone. There is no reason big enough to explain my failure to protect you. You are more important than anything in the world to me, and I should have been there. I promise you that I will never make that same mistake again."

Running his hands over his face, Jason tried to gather his thoughts. The guilt swimming in his mind reminded him of why he was here. "When your mom showed up that night in the rain, I made a choice to become your father. In all the years since, I've never once doubted that decision," he proclaimed. "I knew as soon as I looked into Carly's helpless eyes that there wasn't anything I wouldn't do to keep you both happy and safe. And when I thought that meant stepping aside to give Sonny my family because that's what she thought she wanted, I did it. I did it for you both. Now I know that I should have fought for what I wanted. I should have fought for what was mine."

"I've never stopped loving you like my own son, not even for a minute. When we thought we lost you two years ago, I mourned you like a father would mourn his child," Jason remembered. "However, I never gave up hope that you were still out there. Maybe no one else would believe, but your mom and I were sure that you were alive. Now, we're facing another situation where no one thinks you are going to wake up. Well, we've always defied the odds, Buddy. It's time for us to pull off one more miracle. They didn't believe in your mom or me, but we proved them wrong. Carly and I both know that you can do this. We know that you will."

Studying Michael's placid face, Jason looked for any sign of movement. He didn't really expect there to be any, but he had to look all the same. "There is a lot of stuff about me that you don't know, things that I should have never tried to hide from my family. I lied to the people most important to me over something that I know would make you happier than anything in the world. I'm sorry that I haven't told you the truth about Jake yet, Michael. I want you to know that he is my son. I should have told you that you have another brother…I can't help but think that you would love him like one. You and Morgan both would have been so great if I had just given you that chance. So would your mom. I thought I was doing what I should to protect my child, but instead, I left you in harm. I'm going to figure out a way to protect both of you now, I promise. I don't want to lose my family now that I am determined to finally really have one."

"That's the thing about hospitals, you see, they give you a lot of time to think," Jason continued. "Life can change in an instance, and in those moments when the world stops and everything hangs in the balance, you figure out what's really important to you. You realize all the things you tried to deny and grab onto the things that you can't imagine living without. For me, that is you. That is Morgan and Jake. It is my _children_, the three boys that I love more than anything I've ever known. It shouldn't have taken me this long to figure it out when it's so easy. Knowing you, you probably figured it out years ago."

Smiling to himself, Jason figured that Michael likely had a pretty strong inkling of Jason's true feelings not only about himself and Morgan but also for his mom. "And I guess if I'm going to be honest here, you know how I feel about your mom. You'd be so proud of her, Michael. She has been so strong," Jason told him. "Did you know that there are people out there who are afraid of me? I know how I can come off, but your mom has never seen me that way. She's always thought that she was the dangerous one. She's right, Carly is the only person I've ever known with the capability to wreck me. A single tear in her ocean blue eyes and I am totally destroyed."

But it was more than that for Jason. Carly was his addiction. He wasn't scared of anything, but he was terrified of being in love with her. High speed motorcycle races and a round of Russian roulette with the five families had nothing on a single kiss from Carly. They were the classic case of fire and ice. Drawn to her like a pyromaniac and fire, he would fall blindly into her knowing that he would get burnt. She was passionate, outspoken and fiery while he was more reserved, intense and disconnected. No one understood how they could fit together, but what they didn't see was the softer sides of who they were. Carly might burn him but she would be waiting on the other side with a refreshing mist of water to put the fire out.

"At the end of the day, I don't care about being destroyed," he confessed to Michael. "You can only protect your heart for so long. Life isn't worth living if you're not sharing it with the people that matter most. I can go on pretending for the sake of keeping the peace and having her in my life, but it's going to be empty if I know that we should be something more. Holding her like I have and being here with her like this has shown me that much. I wish you could be here to share this with me, Buddy, but I don't have to hear your voice to know that this is what you would want."

Leaning down, Jason felt his eyes welling with tears as he rested his head against Michael's beating heart. He had to know that he was alive. "I love your mom, and I am going to tell her that. And when you wake up, we are going to be a family," he promised. "I hate that it took this happening, but I have to believe that something good has to come from this. I am going to do my part in finding redemption, now all you have to do is your part." Finally, he allowed the tears to brim over as he openly sobbed against Michael's tiny body. He prayed that God would take all pain from the boy and put it into his own body. He prayed that he would wake up. He prayed that he wouldn't have to give Carly any more bad news. He prayed that they wouldn't have to bury their son.

He must have been sobbing for a few minutes because when he felt Carly's hand resting on his shoulder, his body was completely spent. Still clutching Michael's hands, he turned his eyes to meet her wavering gaze. "How did this happen?" he sobbed, biting hard his bottom lip to try to get his tears to stop. He didn't want to cry in front of her. It was his job to be strong. "Carly, I'm so sorry that I let it get to this point. I promised to take care of him, to protect our son. Maybe he would have been better off if you'd never come that night."

"Now you listen to me," she said firmly, staring him straight into his eyes. "Michael, _our son_, loves and worships you more than anyone on this planet. The way he looks at you reminds me that I made the right choice when I asked you to be his father. I don't blame you for this. This is not our fault. You would never let me blame myself, so I'm not going to stand here and let the blame fall on you. This is life, and it happened. We can't change that. What we can change is what happens from here on out. I won't have regrets for the life I've made. I just want to make sure that I finally get the won that I've wanted all along."

Sighing deeply, he took one last lingering look at Michael before standing up. "We have got to get out of here. I know that you don't want to leave him alone for too long, but you need to eat and get a shower. I'd like to change some clothes. We could be gone for less than an hour tops. Sonny could stay here while we're gone to spend some time with him alone."

Under ordinary circumstances, Carly would never leave Michael like this, but she trusted Michael. If he thought for even a second that it would be risky to leave him, he wouldn't even suggest it. However, since he believed it was something that he thought they needed, she would play along. "We could stop by and see Morgan for a little bit. I'm sure he would like it if his Uncle Jason helped me tuck him into bed at the penthouse," she agreed. "After that, I have some place that I would like you to take me."

Jason knew instantly that she was talking about their place, the dive that started it all. From a long game of pool on a 20 bet to the game that he lost on purpose so that he could hold her in his arms to their nameless nights in his tiny apartment over the bar, Jake's was the scene of their beginnings, middles and ends. Whenever life threw one of them a curve ball, they would return to that felt table and work it all out over a game of nine ball. He had sent there to play a game when he had brain surgery three years ago. She had asked him to take her there after she was shot in the storm. The last time they had been there together was in a dream – hers during the building explosion and his during the surgery in Seattle. It was theirs, a place that they could always come home.

He nodded with a genuine smile, glad that they would get an escape from reality, however brief it was. She took his hand to help him up and entwined their fingers together before leading him from the room. Sonny was waiting outside with Max, wringing his hands nervously as he paced the hall. "Jason and I are going to run by the penthouse to check on Morgan and change clothes," Carly told him. She was still angry and bitter, but her son needed all of them to hold it together right now. "Spinelli and Mercedes will be with him. We should be back here in a few hours. If you could just stay here until we get back, I'd really appreciate."

"Of course I will stay with Michael," he agreed, reaching out to pat her forearm. "I had a car downstairs waiting for me that you can just take. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call."

"My bike is actually in the lot," Jason countered before Carly could speak up. He had one of the men bring it over earlier because he knew that he would get a yearning for the wind in his hair. While Elizabeth had always thought of long rides as something that belonged to just them, Jason had always remembered the vivacious blonde who had owned them first. They were a lot like his heart in that way.

They stayed in the hallway long enough to watch Sonny take his place next to Michael's side before walking back toward the waiting room. Elizabeth was on the phone behind the desk of the nurses' station. Carly hesitated as they passed her. She had always been jealous of the wholesome nurse to some degree, but after finding about Jake, it had gone to a whole different level. Elizabeth had given Jason the one thing that Carly hadn't been able to give, a child that was biologically his own. She knew that they would always be connected through Jake, but Carly knew that she had a place in his heart all to herself. She didn't need envy Elizabeth because she wasn't the one Jason wanted by his side. That place belonged to her.

Elizabeth's eyes darted to where Jason and Carly had paused outside the elevator. She heard Carly's say her name in a low voice before glancing over at her. She was compassionate toward the blonde for what she was going through as a mother, but that didn't change the fact that Elizabeth hated her. They had no respect or need for each other. Their only true connection was through Jason, and a part of Liz had always known that she would lose if it ever came down to it. By the way Jason was looking at Carly so attentively, she knew that the time had come.

She knew that she could use Jake as a weapon against Jason, but what would be the point? In the end, Jason would always return to Carly and she would never come first. Elizabeth couldn't blame him for that. Maybe if she had fought harder to be in his life months ago when she told him it was pregnant she could be angrier, but to be anything else but accepting would be selfish.

"It's okay if you want to talk to her," Carly whispered as she peered into Jason's eyes. She needed him to know that she was okay with this because no matter what happened, he needed Jake. For once, Carly was going to put aside her anger for the sake of her best friend. They both needed something to make this happy right now, and for Jason, that could be his son. "I can just go home and meet you there or even wait here. I'll understand."

He reached up and brushed a tendril of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear lovingly. He needed to talk to Elizabeth, but more importantly, he needed to be with Carly. "Everything else can wait right now," he assured her. "Right now, I just want to take you home and eat a frozen pizza on the couch while we read Morgan a bedtime story. After that, we're going to go make a bet at Jake's and see if I can still throw a game your way."

She smiled widely before reaching over to press the elevator button. As the doors opened and she stepped in, she looked back at him. "Losing that game was the best thing that ever happened to you because if it hadn't, I never would have happened to you," she reminded him. "You might think that you lost that game on purpose, but I think that we both won."


	5. Chapter 5

Elizabeth was just a few minutes behind Carly and Jason's departure, desperate to get home to her two boys and thank God yet again for keeping them out of harm's way. Cameron and Jake were with Lucky tonight, spending time with the only father they would ever get to know. As she stepped out of General Hospital and turned her face toward the pale spring moon, she wished that things could be different but knew that they could not be. This was life as she knew it, and anything else could only bring catastrophe.

Still, as she wrapped her arms around her bare arms, she couldn't help but feel remorse for what she had lost. She had almost had it all with Jason, but like the song goes, almost doesn't count. Elizabeth liked to pretend that she could have had the fated life with Jason that she had long dreamt of because it made her feel like the last year hadn't been for nothing. She didn't want to accept the truth that as long as that woman existed in his world, she would never be in first place, let alone finish in the top three or four.

"I see someone is trying to escape the hospital," Robin announced as she came up behind Elizabeth. Just a few months pregnant, she had that glow that embodied expecting mothers. Her slightly rounded stomach was obvious in her form-fitting blue scrubs, reminding Elizabeth of how she had looked so similarly not all that long ago. "I've been out here for a few minutes trying to cool down. Apparently, my mood swings have gotten a little out of control, and it's not appropriate to scream at an orderly for using red pen."

Smiling sympathetically at her friend, Elizabeth could only nod knowingly. She had had her own ups and downs during her pregnancy. "So, I guess you saw Jason leave with Carly then," she shrugged. "It's good that they are finally getting out of the hospital. I don't think either of them has really left since Michael was brought in. They both have to be exhausted, and I'm sure Morgan will be happy to see his mom."

Robin studied the nurse for a moment, well aware of the connection she shared to her former love. Like Elizabeth, she had played second fiddle to Carly's family that Jason had so willingly taken on as his own. They had tried to fight it for awhile, but one bad choice on her part and he had written her off completely. She knew then that there was no way that she would ever come first in his life. Looking at Elizabeth, it appeared that she'd had a realization of her own. "Yeah, they looked pretty worn out," Robin agreed. "But given the circumstances, I'm glad they have each other."

"I can't believe you're sticking up for Carly," Elizabeth laughed humorlessly. She knew that there was no shortage of bad blood between the petite brunette and curvaceous blonde. They had hated each other for years, and much of that anger centered on Jason. She couldn't believe that the doctor would be glad that they were clinging to desperately to each other. "I'm not sure that it's healthy that Carly rely on Jason so much. I mean, Jax is her husband and Michael's stepfather. Sonny is his father. There are more important people here."

"Not to Carly and not to Jason," Robin countered. "Right now, it's Carly and Jason against the world. Just look at how they are together. He has been right by her side, fighting her battles with her, throughout this entire thing. It's the same place he has been pretty much the entire time he's known Carly. I don't see what he sees in her, but there is definitely something there. Neither one of them would make it through this without the other. Other than the boys, there is no one more important in the world to him than her."

Elizabeth wished that for once, the doctor could feign ignorance and just pretend that Carly didn't have this strong hold over Jason. She wanted to believe that he would come to his senses and come back to her. She still wanted to find a way for them to be together. "He'd be there if the same thing happened to you or me. That's just who Jason is."

"I agree that Jason would show up if I had a crisis," Robin acknowledged. "But it wouldn't be the same thing that he has with Carly. It wouldn't be as relentless or unconditional. It certainly wouldn't be mutual. He wouldn't feel the pain the same way that I was feeling it. He wouldn't be able to make choices for me or understand the history and the stories. I can't speak for what you have with Jason, but I do know what we had. Jason tried his best to love me, but in the end, I still wasn't her. We didn't have what they had."

"What they still have," Elizabeth sighed. "How did you do it for so long? You shared your life with Jason and Michael for a long time, always knowing that the other shoe was going to drop and Carly was going to win him in the end."

Robin closed her eyes, thinking about those months she had spent helping Jason raise Michael. "That time was one of the happiest of my life, but I always knew that it had an expiration date. I made peace with the fact that he wasn't going to pick me. You just have to find a way to do the same."

Carly pulled the worn grey sweatshirt over her head and stared blankly at her reflection. The shirt was oversized but soft and still smelled faintly of Jason. He had insisted that she take a shower while he tucked Morgan into bed. They were going to grab a quick bite to eat before heading over to Jake's for a game of pool. Sonny was still at the hospital with Michael, which Carly was less than thrilled about. Still, she had agreed to take a break for the sake of her sanity and likely Jason's. They could only spend so many hours confined within the walls of that small hospital before they went crazy. She knew how much he hated feeling caged.

Opening the door to the bedroom, she sauntered down the hall toward the sound of Jason's voice. It was low and soothing, sounding much like he did ten years ago when he read the same story to Michael as an infant. Stopping just short of the door, she pressed her ear against the wall and listened to him read to Morgan. She could see them huddled together in the small bed. All these years, Jason had kept a room for the boys and her just in case they ever needed some place safe to come to. On nights like tonight, she was thankful for that foresight.

"That was always Michael's favorite part," she whispered, pushing the door open tentatively. Jason closed the book and looked up at her as a sleeping Morgan snuggled deeper beneath his plaid quilt. His blue eyes twinkled as he appraised her in his clothing. She felt self-conscious under his watchful gaze, a rarity for someone as confident as Carly. "I see you got him to sleep."

"It didn't take long. He just wanted to make sure you were okay," he told her as he slipped from the bed. Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on Morgan's forehead before making room for Carly. She brushed a quick kiss on the top of her son's head before tucking the blankets up around his chin. "He has a lot of questions, Car."

"I know that I am going to have to answer them, Jase, I'm just not ready," she admitted. "I don't know how to tell him that this happened or what to tell him is going to happen. I don't want to scare Morgan. He looks up to Michael. He'll be scared if he even understands at all."

Jason wrapped his arm around her and pulled her firmly to his side. "We'll figure out a way to answer every question he has whenever you are ready to tell him," he promised. "For now, why don't we go downstairs and eat some pizza? I think I have one of those frozen cheese ones that you love so much."

Carly followed Jason downstairs to the living room, surprised to find the living room empty. Spinelli and Lulu had been down there watching television when they had got home, but knowing Jason, he had probably sent them off somewhere. She didn't give it much more thought as they passed into the kitchen. Propping herself up on the counter, she watched as Jason preheated the oven and put in the pizza. It was a simple domestic moment, but it was something that she had missed. They had been together a lot like this when they had lived together, but that was a long time ago. It had been far too long since they were together without the pretenses of other people hanging over their head.

"Can I tell you something, Jase?" she asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over the cozy room. He turned from the dark window and nodded his permission. "I know what the doctors are saying, and part of me thinks that maybe I should listen to them. But the bigger part of me hears your voice in my head telling me to fight for my son. Do you think I'm being stupid by not listening to what they're telling me?"

"I can't answer that for you, Carly," Jason retorted. "I wish that I could, but you're his mother. I trust your intuition in this situation more than any doctor's opinion. If you believe in Michael then I can, too. It's like the Bible verse says, 'We live by faith and not by sight.' You just need to have faith in him to believe in him."

"I love how you answer me without telling me what to do," she smiled, jumping down to walk over to where Jason was sitting on the counter opposite her. Moving in between his legs, she wrapped her arm around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Jason wrapped his arms around her instinctively before pressing a kiss to her shoulder. The touch sent shivers down Carly's spine, reminding her of the kiss he'd given her the first night they'd watched Michael. He'd wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed a kiss onto her shoulder as they cried quietly together. Those were the moments where Carly knew exactly how Jason felt. Leaning back, she looked up at him intently. "I am going to leave him."

He didn't need to ask what she was talking about. He could read her mind. In fact, he had known even before she did that her marriage was over. When Jax had failed to show up at the General Hospital, that was the end of them. Carly knew that if Jason was the one trapped on some tarmac in Houston, he would have rented a car and driven all night to be by her side. A part of her knew that her husband had a valid excuse, but she still didn't care. He had let her down once again.

"I'll do anything I can to help you," he promised before hugging her tightly. He expected her to cry but she was eerily calm. "I just don't want you to make any choices in haste. Be sure that this is what you want. You're going through a lot right now, and the last thing you need is something that is going to make you feel worse."

"Exactly, that is why I need to end things with Jax," she declared. "He could have found a way to be here if it was that important to him. I don't care what was going on with you; you would have dropped anything and everything to come to me. He's done it time and time again for his brother. When something finally happens in this family and I need him, he isn't here. I begged him not to go to Houston, and he didn't listen to me. I'm tired of watching him leave. It's time that I be the one to go. I'm just sorry that it took me this long to figure it out. I shouldn't have put my boys through this. They've had to follow me around too much. I'm tired of moving around all the time. I just want to stand still."

Carly turned around in his arms to look out the window at the night sky. She loved the view from the kitchen because it had the best view of the harbor. A faint light from a passing ship cast shadows across the wall. Jason leaned down and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Then stop moving. Bring the boys here. We'll stand still together," he whispered. Carly felt her body go breathless, afraid to move in case he changed his mind. "You don't have to make this hard on yourself, Carly. You don't have to put the boys through more. We're a family."

"Jase, you're just trying to help me out and watch out for me. You don't need two kids underfoot. You know what it's like living with me. I'm loud and bossy and demanding. We'd totally interrupt your routine," she argued. The truth was she wanted to do it. The minute he spoke the words, she knew that was what she had been waiting for all along. Still, she didn't want him to ask her out of duty. She wanted him to ask because he wanted her. "You don't have to try to fix this for me. I'm a big girl. I need to learn to live with my mistakes."

"First of all, I'm not asking you to stay here because that's what I think I should do. I'm asking because I want to spend time with my family. I almost lost Michael, Carly. I won't waste anymore time that I have with him," he explained. "As for ruining my routine, my life is boring with you and the boys in it. The four of us and Spinelli could stay here. There is plenty of room and I could keep you safe if you were here with me. I'm not saying it has to be forever, but at least for now, would you think about it? I just want to be wherever you are."

Carly smiled at the mention of the young computer hacker. Jason had taken him in nearly two years ago and in that time, he had become like a son to him. "You know, I do need to get to know Spinelli better if he is going to be such an important part of our lives," she decided. Jason liked the sound of that, _our lives_. "I'll tell you what, let's put a bet on this. If you beat me at Jake's, I'll move in here with you."

"And if you win?"

"And if I win, then you and Spinelli will move in with me."


	6. Chapter 6

Two hours in to their latest game at Jake's, Jason was no closer to beating Carly than he was the moment they had walked into the door. They had played several rounds of nine-ball, calling in between games to check on Michael at the hospital. Bobbie had taken a shift after Sonny had headed over to the penthouse to spend some time with Morgan. Carly still wasn't too thrilled about letting her ex-husband spend time with their youngest son, but she knew that Morgan needed it more than she needed to hate him. Like they had agreed earlier, they needed to focus all their positive energy right now on the people that needed and deserved it the most, Michael and Morgan.

Leaning across the table, Carly lined up her cue and expertly sunk a pair of balls. She grinned saucily over her shoulder at Jason as she silently made her way around the table. She was beating him yet again, but she wasn't sure if he was letting her win or if she was just that good. They had taken turns beating each other over the years. Jason had always said that she was the only person who could even come close to matching his talent. She was the only one who had come close to him in a lot of ways.

"Alright, if I sink this shot, that's it," she declared. A few of Jason's balls were spread around the table while only the black 8 ball remained for her. They both knew that she would be able to sink it easily, but Carly was determined to remind him of their agreement. "If I make this one, you and Spinelli are moving into the cottage with the boys and me. And if I miss, well, what's the point of even considering that?"

Jason laughed at her confidence. Carly had always had a ferocious ability to believe in herself. She always trusted in the decisions that she made. Even now, when he was considering whether he should have ever been a father to Michael, she knew in her heart that it was the right thing to do. Her faith in him was almost enough to make Jason believe in himself. And when he couldn't, he knew that he could always trust Carly to believe for him. It was a lot like the way he could always see the best in her, even when she was set on destroying her life.

"You're going to make it," he agreed knowingly. He didn't feel like arguing, and there were far worse fates than having to live in a beautiful house with the woman that he loved and called his best friend, their two boys and the strange phenomenon that was Spinelli. "Hurry up and get it over with. I'd like to get over to the hospital before it's too late so we can check on Michael."

Rolling her eyes with faux desperation, Carly slid the cue through her fingers and nudged the last remaining ball into the left corner pocket. With a light thud, the ball disappeared from out of sight, sending Carly into a whirlwind of celebration. Jason applauded her sarcastically as she danced around, grinning as if she had just solved all the world's problems. What Jason didn't see was that Carly was celebrating much more than winning a stupid pool game; she was celebrating getting apart of her life back that she never thought she could have again. She was getting back her life with Jason.

Grabbing his hand, she pulled him into a tight hug. Jason melted against her body, glad that they had a couple of hours away from the hospital together. If even for only a little bit, they had been able to forget about the tragedy and just focus on the few good things that existed right now. "I'm glad that you won," he whispered into her ear before pressing a soft kiss to her lobe. Carly smiled into his shoulder and hugged him a little tighter. "I'll have my stuff brought over by morning."

Pulling back from him slightly, Carly smiled into his clear blue eyes. "Why are you waiting so long?" she teased him. He shook his head in response before threading his long fingers through hers. Neither said a word as Jason paid the tab, led them to the motorcycle and headed out into the night. The drive from Jake's to General Hospital was short and before they knew it, they were already back in the parking garage they had departed from only a few hours before.

Swinging her long legs over the side of the Harley, Carly popped off the helmet and let it rest against her hip. "I wasn't kidding about what I said before. Why have we waited so long for this, Jase?" she asked. If life was different, if they weren't under these circumstances, Carly wouldn't have the courage to even bring it up. Fearless in everything else, the thought of having this conversation scared Carly. Jason scared her. More accurately, the way she felt about Jason scared her. "It shouldn't have taken this."

"But it did," he whispered as he pulled off his black helmet and tucked it beneath the bike. Jason took Carly's helmet and placed it with his so that he could hold her hands. "I wish I had the words that would make this make sense. I wish that I could right all our wrongs. I can't do that for us, Car, you know that. It shouldn't have taken this long but it did. We needed for Morgan and Jake to happen. We needed to love and have our hearts broken. We needed to go through hell. We're still going through it. I just know that the person that I started this journey with is still the person standing beside me today. You're the same girl that I want by my side when all of this is over. Maybe it's selfish of me…maybe I should push you away to keep you safe, but I can't do that."

"I wouldn't go anyways," she murmured as she slid her arm around his waist. They started to walk together toward the elevator. Carly tucked her head into his side as they waited for the lift to reach the ground floor. "I like that you need me, Jase. More than that, I love that you want me in your life. It makes me feel like I have somewhere that I belong. It's like we belong to each other."

They could continue this conversation for hours, but Jason knew that they both knew everything that they needed to know. Instead, he decided to broach a difficult subject. "I think that you should consider bringing Morgan to see Michael. I know that it's going to be hard for him to see it, but he might understand better if he can see his brother firsthand," he suggested. "I know that it helped with Emily when I had my accident. Of course, she was a lot older than Morgan is, but still, it might be for the best."

Carly considered his proposal for a moment. "If you think it's best, we can try it," she decided as they stepped out into the ICU ward. Max and Milo were posted outside Michael's room, peering through the glass window at her little boy inside. She let go of Jason's hand and fled down the hall into the arms of the older brother. Max had been faithful to her over the years and had guarded her boys as if they were his own family. The bodyguard squeezed her tightly, fighting back tears like those that had slipped down her cheek. She couldn't bear to look at him as she whispered, "Look at our boy in there."

"I know, Mrs. C," he replied. Carly hated that he still referred to her as Sonny's wife but never said anything. Like Jason, Max was one of the few people that simply accepted Carly for who she was. He didn't ask questions, he just loved her unconditionally. There should be more people like Max in this world. "Milo just wanted to stop over and look in on him before heading back to Jason's for another shift watching over Morgan."

"Actually, you can send him over to the cottage. Jason and Spinelli are going to be moving in with me," Carly told him as Jason took his place next to her. She turned to Milo and smiled warmly. "And you don't have to be so formal and stay outside. Leave that up to the other guards. You're part of the family."

Milo returned the smile before looking to his boss for permission. Jason nodded curtly. "You heard what she said," he retorted evenly. "Whatever Carly wants, Carly gets."

"Can I get that in writing?" she grinned before looking back at her son. The blonde nurse that was always following around Nikolas Cassadine was inside with puppets, telling Michael a story. Carly smiled, appreciative that someone had taken the time to try to entertain her comatose son. She made a note to do something kind for Nadine to thank her. "I'm going to go in alone. I'll come get you when I'm ready."

Jason nodded as she went into the room. The door clicked shut quietly behind her, leaving him on the outside to watch her through the double-paned glass. "Hello, Mrs. Jacks," Nadine greeted her cheerfully as Carly came around to the other side of the bed.

"Hey," she replied without looking at the younger woman. She reached down and pressed Michael's hair from his face. "How's he doing tonight?"

Nadine picked up a clipboard and scanned his charts. "Everything looks to be stable, no changes really," she answered. "I hope you don't mind me sitting in here. Your mom got paged and asked me to stay with him until someone in the family showed up."

"Not at all," Carly assured her. "In fact, I want to thank you for taking time out of her schedule to stay with him. Most nurses would use the time to catch up on paperwork or take a quick nap. I'm glad that you were trying to do something positive for my son."

"I am thinking about making pediatrics my specialty," Nadine revealed. "Although I wish that the circumstances were different, I'm glad to be able to spend time with your son."

Carly looked affectionately at her oldest son, wishing that he would sit up and tell the young nurse how he was too old for her puppet shows. She knew that Michael would protest that they were too childish for him while secretly loving it. He was always doing that. "If it's okay with you, I'm going to ask that you be one of the nurses assigned to my son. I want to surround him with as much optimism as possible. He deserves only the best, and something tells me that you're that."

Nadine blushed for a moment before nodding slightly. She had heard a lot about Carly Corinthos-Jacks during her short time in Port Charles, most of it negative. Elizabeth never had a good thing to say about her, and she had witnessed her wrath more than once. However, the woman that stood before her didn't fit that image at all. This version of Carly was a mother willing to fight for her son's life. It was a woman dependant on the silent assassin watching from the doorway. It was a woman in need of a girl friend who would be on her side. For some reason, Nadine wanted to be that friend for Carly.

"That would be fine," she replied. "I believe that Michael has a great chance of waking up even if the doctors are telling you otherwise. Surrounding a patient with love and hope can make all the difference. I have seen faith save more than one life. That kind of belief might just save your son."

"Thank you," Carly replied as she walked Nadine to the door. "If you see my mother, please tell her that Jason and I have returned. I'm sure that she's exhausted, so she can go home. Just let her know that Morgan will be at my house with Spinelli and Lulu. She can stop by there to see him anytime she would like."

"Of course," Nadine promised. Carly turned back toward Michael's bedside while Nadine slipped into the hallway. She paused outside the door and watched the mother for a moment. "I will be by in an hour to check on him. If you need anything in the mean time, please page me."

Jason turned to the blonde nurse and cracked the first smile she had ever seen on his chiseled face. She could almost see something warm in eyes, brewing there just below the surface. "Thank you for what you did in there."

"I was just doing my job," she assured him. "I'm a nurse, and I love children. Besides, I would want someone to do the same thing if it was my family in there."

"I wasn't talking about what you did for Michael. I'm talking about what you did for Carly," he replied. "She doesn't have a lot of friends and she trusts even fewer people. You just earned one of those rare and strangely coveted positions. I appreciate that."

"I just wanted to help her," Nadine shrugged with a smile. She didn't know Jason Morgan that well, but it was obvious that he cared greatly for Carly and Michael. "She loves her son very much. I just helped one of my closest friends decide that he wants to live for his son. Now I want to help Carly see that her son wants to live for her."

For someone that didn't know Michael or Carly very well, Nadine certainly had all the right words for Jason. There was a naïve innocence to her that made him sure that she was being honest in her intent. She didn't want anything more from them than to help. "Well, like I said, thank you," he repeated. "I owe you."

"Something tells me that you're a good person to have indebted to you," she smiled before bustling off down the hallway toward Nikolas' room.

Jason shook his head silently as he watched her disappear. Then, he let himself into Michael's room. Walking over to where Carly was sitting, he situated himself behind her on the chair and wrapped his arms around her. Resting his chin on her shoulder, they watched quietly as their son slept. "I miss the sound of his laugh," he told her.

"I miss yelling at him about playing video games instead of doing his homework," she decided. "I would love to hear him fighting with Morgan right now."

"I miss the glimmer he gets in his eyes whenever I walk into the room," Jason retorted. "No matter what kind of day I'm having, I can't help but feel incredibly loved when he looks at me."

"He looks up to you. You're his own personal, real life superhero," she told him. "I miss waking up with him and having a cup of coffee with him first thing. He'll drink chocolate milk at the kitchen table and we'll just talk. It's our own little ritual before Morgan gets up. We've been doing it for years."

Jason could remember watching Carly drinking her coffee with a baby Michael still in his highchair. She would talk to him as if he was an adult, forever her equal. That kid had been through everything with her. "You are going to get to do that again, Carly," he promised her. "We are going to get all these moments back. Michael will laugh again. He will play those video games and fight with Morgan. We will have him again."

"We should bring Morgan tomorrow," she whispered without taking her eyes off Michael. "I don't want to miss those moments with him because I'm here. He deserves to have his mother. I have to find a way to make this work."

"We will find a way to make this work." Carly looked up at Jason in surprise before looking to the doorway where the heavily accented response had come from. Jax stood in the door, looking down at his wife with concern. Jason's grip on her tightened instinctively as if he was holding on to what was his. "We will get through this as a family."

Carly looked carefully at her husband before nodding sadly. "Yes, we will," she agreed. She felt Jason tense behind her. "Jason and I will help our children get through this as a family."


	7. Chapter 7

One night faded into another, and before Jason knew it, two weeks had passed since the night Michael was shot. He had spent nearly ever waking hour with Carly at Michael's bedside waiting patiently for the young man to wake up. It was a living hell to watch her hoping so completely for a miracle, but her faith in the impossible made him believe that it truly could happen. While the doctors and much of the family was skeptical, Carly and Jason remained steadfast in their belief that he would make a full recovery.

"The specialists will be here this afternoon," Jason told Carly as they sat quietly in the hospital cafeteria. She had just returned from a visit to his penthouse to spend a few hours with Morgan before he went to pre-school for the afternoon. The little boy had been happy for time alone with his mother as it had been sporadic since Michael slipped into the coma. However, after a few visits to General Hospital, he was becoming more understanding of the situation. "I talked to Sonny earlier and he is going to meet us here. I thought that I would see if you wanted to call your mom, too. She might be able to understand some of the medical terminology better than we can."

"I'd rather her be there than Patrick or Robin," she acknowledged tiredly. Jason had found a team of experts in cases like Michael's at hospitals in Zurich, Paris and Munich. No expense had been compromised to make sure that she was given the best expert opinions in the world. Since finding the doctors, she had become increasingly weary of those at GH. She needed them to have confidence and hope in her son's ability to survive. When both failed to come, she became desperate for something more. "Thank you for taking care of everything. I know that you don't mind, but I still appreciate it."

Wrapping his arm around her slender waist, Jason pulled her closer to him on the booth and pressed a kiss to her temple. Spending all the hours that he had with Carly in such an intimate setting had stirred something in him that he had long tried to suppress. Under ordinary circumstances, Jason didn't allow him to feel the things he had been feeling for his best friend. "I would do anything for you, Carly, you know that. You don't have to keep thanking me for doing my job. I have a lot to make up to Michael."

"You don't have anything to make up to him. He would never want you to think that way, and you know that," she argued. "Jase, we've had this conversation a million times, but if you still don't get, I will have it again. You are not to blame for this. The man who shot my little boy is the only person I can blame. I won't let you subject yourself to that kind of guilt. Would you want me to blame myself?"

"I told you that I don't want you to blame yourself, Carly, but someone has to take responsibility. Part of me thinks I should have never agreed to be Michael's father. Imagine how different his life would have turned out."

"Can you honestly say that you think Michael would have had a better life without you in it? What about Morgan?" she asked. "It's always been you and me against the world. I can't think of a better person to have by my side. Sonny has been a good father. I knew the danger that came with his life. I knew that, and I still wanted to be with him because I loved him. It's that same kind of love that caused me to want to be with you years before. Only our love went so much deeper, Jase."

Jason turned away from her slightly and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He could hear what she was saying, but he didn't want to listen. "We're not talking about love here. We're talking about the ability to live a life free of violence. I can't give you that. I never could."

"People get hurt every day. Freak accidents happen and lives are lost," she pointed out. "I can't live every single moment in fear that something bad is about to happen. Maybe my odds are a little higher, but so what? It just makes it all that more miraculous when we survive. I know it's a risk, but you risk your heart every single time you let someone into your life. The potential for pain is always there, but from where I stand, you were a risk worth taking."

"Do you have any idea how amazing you are? You should hate me for the pain I have inflicted on your life."

"You didn't pull the trigger. You didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to do. You did your best to love and protect us – all of us. Someone has gotten in your head over the past year and made you think that you weren't good enough. They took the decisions that you made, these things that define you, and held it against you. You are more than those things."

Just as Jason was about to reply, both their cell phones went off at once. Carly fished hers from the bottom of her designer handbag while Jason pulled his from the inside pocket of his leather coat. "What's up?" Jason asked Spinelli while Carly answered her mother's call, "Hello?"

Over the next 30 seconds, the respective callers managed to quickly explain that the specialists had arrived and that the entire family was waiting upstairs outside Michael's room. Carly had asked everyone who loved Michael most to be there – from his grandparents to Sonny and Kate to Spinelli and Lulu. She wanted everyone to hear the news so that they would each know what they were dealing with. The biggest part of her wanted to keep it intimate, letting only Jason in on the news. However, she knew that it was important that Sonny be there as well as the extended network of people who loved her little boy so much.

"We should get down there," Jason announced as he flipped his cell phone shut. He started to get up but immediately sank back down when he realized Carly hadn't made a move. "What's wrong?"

"There is someone I forgot to invite," she declared before reaching for his phone. Scrolling through the address book, she came across the name she was looking for and pressed the connect button. "Hey, Monica, it's Carly. I'm using Jason's phone."

Relief washed over Jason as he listened to his best friend talk to his mother. He knew that Monica would appreciate Carly's invitation. For most of this process, the Quartermaines had been left on the outside looking in. He had felt guilty about it, especially with Monica still dealing with her recovery as well as grieving over Alan and Emily. As she finally hung up the phone and started to move, it was him that had to stop her. Pulling her into a tight embrace, he buried his nose in her silky hair and thanked God to be able to just hold her. "Thank you for doing that for her."

"It wasn't for her," Carly murmured. "It was for you." The coy smile playing on his mouth was all the reward she needed as she clung tightly to him. He moved closer into her, grazing his hand over her cheek. She turned further into him instinctively. As she peered up at him, she knew what was going to come next. He had that same hazy look in his blue eyes that was always there when he kissed her. Her own blue eyes fell shut just as his lips finally met hers. A low moan rumbled at the back of her throat as he deepened the kiss. "And apparently that was for me."

Shaking his head, he threaded his fingers through hers and pulled her toward the elevators. "No, that was for us."

The ride upstairs was short and before she knew it, Carly was filling the last empty chair in the waiting room outside Michael's room in ICU. Sonny sat on one side of her with Jason flanking the other. Looking at each man on either side of her, she knew that they were presenting the best united front that they could. She still wanted to hate her ex-husband, but the anger was becoming less and less every day. He looked over at her as to read her mind and winked with a playful grin. The doctors were waiting on the final test results before coming in to address the family. Jason was holding her hand to keep her calm. Given the situation, everything was perfect as it could have been.

"Where's Jax?" Carly heard someone ask from behind her. She turned slightly to see Lulu talking to her mother. Bobbie only shook her head, indicating that this was neither the place nor the time to talk about it. Her younger cousin wasn't the only one to notice her current husband's absence. Even Alexis had shown up to hear the news on Kristina's brother, but Jax still wasn't there. A hushed conversation in the middle of the night reminded her that he still didn't support what she was doing. Their relationship was becoming increasingly strained, an impressive feat given just how bad it had been the night Michael was shot. She knew that she should turn to him for support in a time like this, but she just couldn't do it. He wasn't the man she needed him to be. He couldn't be that man. He wasn't Jason.

"I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting so long. We have the results for Michael's tests," announced a tall doctor with a thick German accent. Jason and Carly leaned forward, intent on hearing every single syllable of what the man had to say. For the next 20 minutes, that is exactly what they did – listening to result after result, prognosis after prognosis, case history after case history. The news was mixed, giving them slim odds for a recovery but leaving a window of optimism that it was possible. It was better news than anyone had given them up to that point, so Carly was willing to take it. This doctor was the first man to tell her that it was possible that her baby could wake up, even if it was only a 1 in 10,000 chance.

Beside her, Jason was surprisingly as optimistic. While a part of him knew that their chances weren't great, there was still a sliver of hope. "Michael will just be that one," he told the doctors confidently. "It only takes one to defy the odds. He can do it."

Sonny and Bobbie soon chimed in with their own questions. Jason continued to listen, but Carly soon tuned everyone else out. As her hope gave way to the dark fears in her head, she felt her resolve slowly beginning to slip. She didn't understand how her faith could waver so quickly, sending her from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other side and then back again. Quietly, she rose and walked away from the family, escaping toward the end of the empty hallway. Everything began to spin around her as she sank to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chin. She hadn't had an episode like this since her breakdown two years ago. Now, as she went further inside herself, she couldn't hear anything or anyone around her.

Within seconds, Jason had leapt from his seat and ran after her. He turned the corner just in time to see her collapse on the cold tile. Falling down beside her, he wrapped his arms around her quivering frame and gathered her into his lap. "Let it come," he whispered, almost glad that she was finally breaking down. She had fought so hard to be strong for so long, but it was inevitable that she would have to come to terms with what was going on.

"One in 10,000," she repeated through her heavy sobs. "Even I know that those aren't good odds. I thought that they would have better news. Instead, it only keeps getting worse. I just want him to wake up."


	8. Chapter 8

"He's crashing!"

"Page Patrick Drake and get him down here immediately!"

"We need a crash cart in here!"

"Where is Dr. Drake? Have you paged him yet?"

"Nurse Johnson, what should we do?"

"Let's charge up the machine…"

The flurry of action outside Michael's room was an unexpected shock when Jason and Carly returned from a quick lunch late the next afternoon. Up until then, everything had been stagnant, their boy's prognosis remaining steady since the second day he was at General Hospital. No one had expected any change in his condition, certainly not for the worst. However, as Jason jogged up the hallway, Carly at his heels, both of them quickly realized that like everything else they had endured to this point, life simply wasn't what people expected it to be.

"What's going on?" Carly attempted to ask Nadine as she walked quickly out into the hallway toward the nurses' station. The cute nurse looked at the mother sympathetically but refused to answer. It wasn't her place to comment on the patient's status. That task should be left to the doctor of record, Patrick Drake. "What is happening to my son? Please, tell me what is wrong with Michael!"

Jason appeared behind her, resting his hand on the small of her back supportively. "Calm down, Carly. Screaming at her isn't going to get you anywhere except worn out," he whispered softly, reassuringly. The blonde whirled around with fire in her eyes, softening immediately as she met his steady gaze. "Nadine, can you tell us what is going on?"

"I'm sorry, I really don't know what to tell you right now. I wasn't in there when Michael's blood pressure started to plummet," she apologized. "I know that Nurse Spencer was in there, so she might be able to give you an explanation once your son is stabilized. Dr. Drake is in there now with him. The best doctors and nurses at the hospital are with Michael. I am sure someone will be out to update you as soon as they know what is going on."

Carly wanted to scream at the petite blonde and shake the truth out of her skinny little body. There was nothing she hated more than being kept in the dark, especially when it came to her family. She had always been fiercely protective of the people she loved most, especially Jason and the boys. Waiting made her feel vulnerable, weak and powerless. Answers gave her power. It told her how she needed to react, what to feel. Still, she knew that it wasn't Nadine's fault. She had done a great job of caring for Michael. "I'm sorry, Nadine. Thank you for telling us this much."

"You're welcome, Carly," she retorted softly. "I wish that I had more to tell you."

"We appreciate your time," Jason thanked the nurse before allowing her to retreat back toward Michael's room. There was nothing he wanted more than to push his way into the boy's room and observe for himself what was happening. Yet, he knew that it wouldn't be good for Carly. She needed for him to be strong and patient in a time when she was anything but. "We just need to wait, Car. They'll be out to tell us what is going on as soon as they know."

"I shouldn't have gone anywhere," Carly muttered to herself as she allowed Jason to lead her over to a plush couch in the waiting room. She hadn't wanted to leave the hospital for lunch, but Morgan had wanted her to come visit him at school. She had gone with Jason for just a half-hour meal with her youngest son, and unbeknownst to them, her oldest son was once again fighting for his life in the mean time. "I should call Sonny."

"I'll take care of it," Jason said for the millionth time since they got to the hospital. Carly was too tired to protest and claim her independence, electing instead to let her best friend take care of the mundane task. She watched him cross the room as he spoke nervously. The muscles in his back were tense, almost as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. In a lot of ways, he did. He carried their fears, their burdens, their sadness. He took all of it as his own so that she didn't have to.

Carly continued to watch Jason as he hung up the phone and shoved it back into the pocket of his favorite faded jeans. Instead of coming back to sit with her, he headed toward the row of windows that overlooked the harbors. Just across the way, he could make out the faint outline of his own apartment building, Harborview Towers. Ten years ago, he had held a redheaded baby up to a window to look out over the same harbor. Now, that little boy was a few feet away fighting for his life.

Wrapping her arms around his body from behind, Carly rested her chin on his shoulder. Jason reached back instinctively to clutch her hand. In the moment, he wasn't sure which of them was stronger. She couldn't tell either. They only knew that they were drawing on each other's strength like a pooled resource that was as vital to them as oxygen. "I'm not blaming you, if that's what you think," she whispered. "It wouldn't have mattered if I had been here or not. The logical part of me knows that. It's just my heart that has a hard time understanding sometimes."

"No one is to blame," he agreed. "It seems to be the theme of our lives lately, huh? There is no one we can pin all this on. It just keeps happening to us, Carly. I'm tired of watching things happen to us. I want to control our lives. I want to be able to build a wall around you and the boys and keep anything bad from ever touching you. I couldn't keep this from happening to Michael. What makes me think I could protect Morgan and Jake?"

A big tear rolled down Carly's cheek as she pressed her face into the hollow of Jason's back. She could smell a scent that was so distinctly Jason as she inhaled deeply, glad that at least one thing wouldn't change. "What is taking them so long, Jase? We should have heard something by now."

Turning around in her arms, Jason cradled a fragile Carly against his chest. "They will be out here soon with good news. We just have to be patient," he reminded her. "God has gotten us this far, Carly. He's not about to take Michael from us now."

"Just once, I would like all this to be about something good. Why couldn't the doctors be in there because he woke up?" she asked pointlessly. She knew that he didn't have any answers to her rhetorical questions. She just needed to put them out there in hopes that God would hear her pleas and answer their deepest prayers. "I am tired of bad news, Jase. I just want something to feel good again."

Weeks of relentless hospital visits, sleepless nights and endless worrying was really wearing on Carly. It killed Jason to see her like this, so near the end of her rope that she didn't know what to do. "It will be someday. I don't know when or how, but it will be good again," he promised. "I will make sure of it."

She knew that he couldn't make such promises, but Carly was glad that he was trying anyhow. She needed something to make her smile when her world could be falling apart once again just a few feet away from her. "I love you."

Brushing a golden curl from her forehead, Jason couldn't help but gaze down at her adoringly. "I know," he murmured as he leaned forward to press a kiss to her temple. She sighed reflexively as she slid her arms down his back and around his waist. "I love you, too. I should have told you that more. I should have told both of you more. You deserved to hear it."

"We didn't have to hear it to know it," she promised him. "Michael knows that you love him. He knows that you've loved him since before he was even born. You didn't need to say it for him to believe it. Neither does Morgan, I promise you. We know that you love us."

"Michael is the first person I really think I ever fell in love with," Jason smiled, remembering what it was like to hold him as a newborn. He was the first baby Jason had ever held, the first true connection he ever remembered having. It was one that had never faded or wavered. It had only grown and developed over time. Michael was still every part Jason's son as he was the day that he was born or the night Jason asked Sonny to take care of his family. "Even before I knew I loved you, I was sure that I loved that kid. He would stare up at me from his crib with those big eyes, and I knew that I just had to make the world a better place for him."

Smiling to herself, Carly remembered the first night she spent alone with Michael and Jason at the penthouse. After suffering post-partum depression and enduring an extended stay at Ferncliff when she shot Tony, she was happy to finally be able to be with her family. Sure, Robin had been there, but everyone knew that Jason's family was Michael and Carly. They were his entire world. They had been for a decade, adding Morgan and Jake along the way.

"Part of me thinks that I should stay away from you, even now," Jason confessed quietly as he rested his head against hers. "I vowed to Michael that I would keep you safe. I should walk away and put as much distance as between us as possible so that you won't be a target, but I can't do that. I can't not be here with you."

"You know that it wouldn't make any difference if you tried to walk away. Even if I thought that it would diminish the threat against Morgan and me, I would never let you walk away from me, Jase," she pointed out. "It wouldn't do either of us a damn bit of good if we had to go through this alone. I need you here with me. There is a lot more danger if you're not here with me."

She knew that she should be saying that to her husband or at the very least the father of her children. However, those words had always been reserved for Jason Morgan – her best friend and soulmate in every definition of the word. She didn't need anyone like she needed him. As she listened to the steady drum of his heart beating rapidly in his chest, she knew that he felt the same. "I would never leave you," he promised. "I _could_ _never_ leave you."

"I know," she retorted softly. Ten minutes had passed since they had last heard from anyone working on Michael. With each moment that ticked by, the bleaker the situation appeared to be. Carly knew that the longer it took, the worse the news usually was. She had been a nurse for about five minutes when she came to Port Charles, and that was the one thing that had really stuck with her. Time wasn't usually a good thing when it came to good news at GH. "I just realized something."

"What?" Jason asked, opening his eyes to look down at her. Tears were brimming in her big blue eyes. He reached up automatically to brush them away with his thumbs before drawing her face to his. Pressing a soft kiss on her lips, he didn't even think of who might be watching. His only thought was focused on kissing away her tears. "Tell me."

"Michael still doesn't know your Jake's father," she stated. "He never knew the truth, Jase. He might not get to know him."

Shaking his head firmly, Jason refused to believe it. "He is going to know Jake, Carly. He is going to wake up again. You're the one who convinced me to believe it," he assured her confidently. He choked back a sob as he struggled to make her regain that faith. "We'll tell him when he wakes up. I'll make sure that my youngest son knows both of his older brothers."

A lot of grand promises were being thrown around in the dim hospital corridor, but Carly clung tightest to the unspoken ones that brimmed just below the surface. She knew that there was a lot that Jason was feeling but not saying. He was promising her a life that they had almost missed out on out of the fear of losing everything. Well, they nearly had lost everything, but here they were…still together. Just as it had always been, just as it should always be – they were still Carly and Jason.

"I love you," she told him again before resting her head back against his toned chest. The smell of leather filled her nose as she nestled into his worn jacket. He opened his coat slightly to wrap it around her shivering frame. "I love who you are with me. I love who we are together. I love the family we have built."

Thinking back over the years, Jason realized that he truly had built this family with Carly. If it wasn't for her showing up at his door in the pouring rain, he would have never been a father to Michael. She never would have ended up with Sonny if it wasn't for him. Morgan wouldn't have ever been born if she hadn't fought to make it work with Sonny. If they hadn't stayed together for so long, Jason would have never had to move on, eventually landing on Sam and then Elizabeth. That gave him Jake. Each step led to the next but all hinged on the common thread of their relationship.

Jason was just about to reassure Carly once again when a worn Patrick Drake came into the waiting room with Robin Scorpio at his side. Looking at his former girlfriend, it was still hard to believe that she was pregnant with Patrick's child. He was glad for her as she would finally have the life she had long wanted but he would have never been able to give her. He had truly tried to love Robin, but once Carly came along, that had proved impossible. It wasn't just that the two women didn't get along; it was that Jason's heart had belonged to the vivacious blonde from the first moment they laid eyes on each other.

Carly turned to regard the two doctors. She felt her legs go weak as she slumped against Jason. He slipped his arm around her waist to be her source of strength. Reaching for his other hand, Carly wrapped her slender fingers in his. "What is it?"

"We were finally able to stabilize Michael," Robin told the two people standing before her. Her heart went out to Carly, an amazing feat given their history. However, she could see the fear and anxiety shining in the eyes of the two people she still considered to be Michael's parents in many ways. "His blood pressure has steadied and his respiration rate is strong."

"Thank God," Carly muttered as she turned to hug Jason. The usually cold and stoic mobster sighed in relief as he embraced the woman in his arms. He murmured something reassuring into her hair as they held onto each other tightly. "Thank you for taking care of my son."

Patrick looked at the floor while Robin shifted uncomfortably next to him. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Jason. "What is it?"

Panic immediately arose in Carly's voice. "What happened? What aren't you telling me about my son?"

Looking at the mother of his child and partner in all things medical, Patrick hoped that she would take the lead. When she avoided his eye contact, he understood that she needed him to deliver the news. "There's been a change in Michael's condition," Patrick admitted. "I think you two better take a seat. I have something important to tell you."


	9. Chapter 9

Rain poured down over a crowd of people, heads bowed in mourning as they huddled around a marble tombstone in the middle of a cemetery. A sea of black umbrellas hung overhead to protect them from the cold raindrops falling onto their black and charcoal dresses and suits. A tall man stood in the middle, his arm wrapped firmly around a fragile blonde with a dark haired boy in her arms. They were pressed together so that nothing, not even air, could come between them. Every once in awhile, a choked sob would escape from her tightly pursed lips, causing the man to only pull her closer to him. They stood out from the crowd with their bright red umbrella, but it wasn't just their color contrast that separated them. The three of them were in a world of their own.

The little boy's face was buried in his mother's shoulder. He was too young to understand what was going on, but he could feel the sadness. It had followed them around for days like a stray puppy starving for scraps and attention. Peering over his shoulder, he looked up at the man that held him and his mother so near. He wanted to smile at him reassuringly, but the boy knew that it wouldn't do any good. Nothing could take away the sadness in those glassy blue eyes. He was grieving just as strongly as his mother. Shifting his gaze to the other side of his mother, he met a pair of coffee brown eyes that mirrored his own. His father was oddly disconnected but clearly feeling everything in the depths of the soul. As he pressed his face back into the softness of his mother's cashmere cardigan, he couldn't help but think how he was the only one still holding the three adults together.

"Do you want me to take him?" Jason asked Carly softly, offering to take Morgan from her tired arms. Carly shook her head adamantly. Since Patrick and Robin had delivered the news more than a week ago, she hadn't wanted to let go of her youngest son. No one could deny her the right to cling so tightly to her only remaining child. Her tragedy gave her the right to be selfish.

Sonny shifted awkwardly next to her as Father Coates started to recite Psalm 23. His voice was usually soothing, but this afternoon, it only broke a father's heart. Mike was next to his son, his hand resting awkwardly on his only living child's shoulder. He understood the grief Sonny was feeling first hand. Just like his son, he had endured watching his child die. Mike would do anything to take the sadness from his son's glittering eyes, but he couldn't. He could only stand silently by and hope that he would let him in when he was finally ready to feel everything he was fighting so hard to feel.

Hugging Morgan tightly to her chest, Carly pressed a kiss onto her son's soft, downy hair. She wished that she could be anywhere but here, watching as life happened to her yet again. A week ago, Jason had told her how tired of that he was, but that didn't seem to matter to the world. "I don't want to be here," she muttered, leaning her head on Jason's shoulder. While everyone around them was adorned in formal wool blazers and neatly pressed suits, he was clad in his signature leather coat. Carly had begged him to wear it, telling him how much she wanted just one thing to be normal. "Can we go home?"

Jason didn't even ask Carly's permission this time as he lifted Morgan effortlessly from her arms. Resting the five-year-old on his hip, he used his free arm to pull Carly into him again. "We have to get through this," he whispered to her as Brook Lynn Ashton stepped up to sing a song. She had returned from Bensonhurst with her mother to attend the funeral when Sonny had called to see if she would sing. He had spent a long time looking for just the right piece through a stack of CDs the young woman had brought along. After nearly an hour, he had found exactly the right song. Only Jason knew the song that he had chosen. It was Sonny's gift to Carly.

"This was his favorite song," Carly realized aloud as the opening bars of the upbeat song began to fill the tiny park. The blonde turned to her ex-husband for a moment, grabbing his hand. She knew that this was his doing, that he had done this for her. She tried to smile for his sake but her face quickly fell. The overwhelming realization that this was it quickly consumed her as she leapt back into Jason's arms. Sonny came to take Morgan from her as Brook Lynn's crystal voice echoed into the damp air. Carly listened to the old pop song, still amazed that her ten-year-old had liked a song from the 70s. She knew that it was only because of the memories he had of it, dancing with his mother around the penthouse as the Bay City Rollers crooned "Bye, Bye Baby."

Jason's fingers tangled through her long blonde tresses as he held her to him. Closing his eyes, he prayed that the music would take him away. A million moments flashed in his mind, from the first time he held Michael as a baby to playing in the ocean with him as an infant to chasing him around the park when he was a toddler to lifting up to see Morgan in the nursery at GH to dropping him off with Carly and Sonny on his first day of school to the moment he scored his first goal in soccer to the parents' night when he showed him the paper he wrote about his hero, Jason, to last Christmas when he had sang louder than anyone at the GH party to the last time he saw him smile. These were the moments that he remembered. None of the bad was there. He wished that it could always be that way but knew that it wouldn't. Eventually, he would have to remember the last week and all the events that had led them there.

Carly, on the other hand, couldn't remember a single good memory through the haze of tears and sadness that consumed her. For seven straight days, she had only dwelled on the deep grief she was feeling over losing Michael. When Patrick Drake and Robin Scorpio told her that her son was stabilized, Carly had actually believed for a brief, shining moment that she was going to get her son back. In the next moment, all of her hopes came crashing down around her. Patrick had told her that the drop in blood pressure paired with the continued stress put on Michael's body and mind had led to greatly decreased brain activity. In fact, it had appeared at that time that he was nearly brain dead. The actual words from there get lost. At some point, Carly had started to outright sob and failed to listen anymore.

Once the doctors had left her alone, Carly had gone straight to Michael's bedside. She had ignored everything and everyone around her, even Jason. The only thing she could do was sit by her son's side and beg him to wake up. It had ripped Jason apart to watch her become so desperate and vulnerable. He could see remnants of the broken down Carly they had nearly lost two years ago in those few precious hours. Jax, Sonny, Bobbie, Lulu, Lucas, Mike…everyone had tried to get through to her to no avail. Jason had known that they wouldn't be able to because she couldn't even hear him. If Jason couldn't get through, no one would. Finally, when it felt like all her tears had been cried and she could no longer feel the sadness, she had crept from her oldest son's room to find the two men that loved him – and her – the most.

"Sonny and Jason," she had called, drawing them into the room. She had immediately taken her seat again, holding her son's lifeless hand in her own. "This is it." As soon as she spoke the words, the three of them knew what it meant. "Michael isn't going to wake up, I know that now. I can't keep pretending or hoping for a miracle. We're not going to get one this time or at least not the one we wanted. Maybe releasing Michael from this hell is the miracle we were supposed to have."

Jason had remained silently, allowing Michael's recognized parents make the choices that they had to make. He would support whatever Carly wanted or needed, no matter how much it killed him inside. He knew that this was easily the most selfless thing he had ever seen her do. "I want to disconnect Michael from the machines," Carly decided, her voice barely above a whisper. "I want to let God take over and decide how this should end."

There was no discussion and within a few minutes, the rest of the family had huddled around to say their goodbyes. Only Morgan was absent from the hospital, a decision made by Sonny when Carly refused to do it. One by one, each person had prayed over Michael, sharing one last memory. Finally, when only his three parents remained in the room, Carly had known that this was the end. Sonny sat on one side, holding his right hand as he cried silently, but it had been too hard for him. Choking back unspoken words, he had finally succumbed to the moment and left the room.

It was almost fitting that Michael's last moments were spent with the same two people that he spent the first moments with. Jason held Carly in his arms as Nadine Crowell came into unhook the machines. Carly had asked specifically that she do it while Patrick watched on. Then, they left the two grieving parents alone to watch their son fade on. When Michael took his last breath, Carly was holding his hand and Jason's. A soft breeze fluttered through the air and toward the window, sending chills down Jason's spine. He would never know what it was for certain, but he preferred to believe that it was Michael's wild spirit set free. As for Carly, she knew that it was.

The loud, angry hum of his flatlined heartbeat was quickly silenced as Nadine shut off the machines. She whispered her condolences with a strained voice, not a bit ashamed that she was showing emotion when she should have been stoic. The nurse watched sadly as Carly bent over to press one final kiss to her son's forehead before leading a shattered Jason from the room.

They had gone straight home to the cottage to see Morgan. Spinelli had stayed behind at the house to entertain the youngster, but as soon as Jason walked through the door with Carly, he knew what happened. He had watched in amazement as the Valkyrie remained strong, doing her best to smile as she lifted her only living child into her arms. Jason had embraced them from behind, and they had stood their silently like that for several minutes. Finally, the quiet mobster had broken away briefly to bring Spinelli into their huddle. They all understood that a piece of their makeshift family was missing, but somehow, they could still feel Michael with them. When Jason had met Carly's eyes over Spinelli's shoulder, he knew that their little boy would always be there.

Carly had left most of the arrangements to Sonny and Jason, only offering her opinion when asked. She had planned a funeral son for once when he was kidnapped by Faith and A.J. had made his family believe that he was dead. Instead, she had spent her time with Morgan, helping him best understand what was going on and just being with him. In the times when Carly would need a break, Spinelli was right there to keep Morgan occupied. Jason had found her more than once on the floor of Michael's bedroom, holding tightly to his giraffe and wrapped in his favorite blanket. Each time, he had sat down on the floor, pulled the blanket around both of them, and cried along with her.

The morning of the funeral, Morgan was dressed quickly and set ahead to the church with Bobbie. The older woman had already lost her daughter and now her grandson. Still, she was determined as ever to be strong for her family, especially Carly and Morgan. She had been a pillar of strength all week long. "Take care of her for me," she had told Jason firmly before she left. He had nodded understandingly and offered the only reply necessary, "I always have, I always will."

What neither of them expected was that Carly would be the one to take care of Jason. When she had finally finished dressing and getting ready for the service, she had looked throughout the entire house for him. Spinelli had already left with Maxie Jones, going on ahead to make sure that certain things had been taken care of per Stonecold's explicit requests. The silence of the house after a week of such activity was eerie and left Carly dreading the day even more if it were possible. Jogging up the stairs, she peaked her head into a few rooms before noticing the door to Michael's bedroom was slightly ajar.

Pushing it open, she found Jason poised on the edge of the mattress with a light blue silk tie bunched in his fist. He'd picked it out especially for Carly to go with his slate grey suit. She had always loved that color on him because it brought out his eyes. His eyes met hers as she came into the room. Without saying anything, he went over to the mirror and started to negotiate the tie through his collar. However, the material didn't seem to want to cooperate, quickly frustrating Jason into tears. "Do I have to wear this thing?" he asked through his tears, holding up the tie.

"Of course not," she whispered as she came up behind him, easily taking the silk from his hand. Setting it on the dresser, she reached up to frame his face with her palms. "You don't have to be strong for me here, Jase. It's okay to fall apart. When we get out there, I know that you will be determined to stay together, but it's different inside these walls. You don't have to pretend here."

Leaning down, Jason pressed his lips intently to Carly's, engulfing her mouth with every emotion in his body. She sighed instinctively against his lips as he tangled his fingers in her curly tendrils. "I loved him."

"And he loved you," she promised as they pulled apart, their foreheads still together. "Michael loved you so much, Jase. He wouldn't want any of this. In fact, he would hate to see you in a suit, pretending to be something that you're not. He'd want you to be at ease. You need to be you today, if only for Michael's sake. Go put on your leather coat and ditch the suit. It's not about appearances or anyone else. Today is about our son, it's about Sonny and Morgan, it's about me and you. I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks."

And now, as she stood by his side at the funeral, Carly couldn't help but be glad she had insisted that Jason wore the jacket. She snaked her arm around Jason's waist, allowing her hand to find the warmth of his bare skin beneath his button-up shirt and coat. He rested his chin on the crown of her silky blonde hair. If only for a second, Carly could pretend that nothing had changed and that life was always as it was.

_I know that this may not be the direction that many of you might have expected or wanted, but I have my reasons for wanting it to head this way. Just stick with me and I promise that my fellow Jarly fans will be rewarded. _


	10. Chapter 10

It had been three days since Michael's funeral, and Carly could feel herself withdrawing more and more each everyday. The last thing she wanted to do was be around anyone. Her first instinct had been to run away from Port Charles under assumed identities. She could take Morgan out of the godforsaken town and keep him in the same way she should have kept Michael. She had worked out all the details in her head. In her mind, it would almost work if it weren't for one little factor. She couldn't walk away from this life because that meant walking away from Jason. Losing him would be as lethal as losing Morgan. She knew that she wouldn't be able to handle her life without him, and so, she had chosen to stay.

Her next thought was to ask Sonny to hand over paternity. She knew that having Jason in her life left danger on her and her son, but she knew that it was a different kind. Her best friend had always acted more logically, thinking out the situation before making his move. She trusted Jason to make rational decisions based on everyone's best interests rather than the heat of the moment or simple revenge. However, as much as she wanted to ask, getting Sonny to sign away the rights to his son was something she had never truly considered before. It felt like the only way to keep him safe sometimes. The fight that lay ahead of her was overwhelming, and she knew that he would hate her for it.

When she had told Jason about her thoughts on the subject, he had been quiet for a few moments as if he was really mulling it over. Finally, he had carefully explained each of the ramifications that she had already considered except for one. He couldn't bring himself to point out how she would have to walk away from him too if it meant keeping Morgan safe. He had already lost one of their boys; he couldn't stand the thought of harm coming to the other two.

"It's not going to be easy, Carly," Jason had reminded her several times throughout the course of the conversation. "You know how Sonny loves his children. He looks at them as if they are possessions, simple things that just belong to him. You were that to him for a long time. In some ways, you still are because you're the mother of his sons."

Carly looked down at her hands folded neatly in her lap and shook her head sadly. "I never wholly belonged to Sonny, and we both know that," she murmured. "Morgan is the only child I have left. I have lost two children in the past six months. I cannot lose him, too, Jase. I know it's a lot to ask of him, but I have to try."

Reaching across the sofa, he pulled her shaking body next to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. There was no way he was going to let her go through this alone. "Let me talk to him," he pleaded steadily. "The two of you will only fight. If it comes from me, I can at least be calm. You don't need to go through this right now."

"You can't fight every battle for me," she retorted. "Morgan is Sonny's son. I knew the danger when I married him. I should at least be there to ask him to let us go for good."

And so, Jason had allowed Carly to go to Sonny's office at the coffee shop and ask him to sign away his parental rights to the boys. As they had predicted, he had been irrational and angry, yelling empty threats. They both knew that he wouldn't make good on them because if he did, there would repercussions that he wouldn't be able to escape. Jason would stand by Sonny if it were against anyone but Carly, but he knew that he would gladly kill the mob boss if it meant protecting the woman they had both long loved. After more than an hour of fighting, Carly had given up and left the warehouse in tears. Max had driven her home quietly, delivering her bawling into Jason's arms. He had held her until she finally fell asleep in her bed.

Before heading over to see Sonny, he had stopped by the playroom where Spinelli and Morgan were playing video games. The strange young man had been a lifesaver in the days that had passed since Michael's death. He would keep the five-year-old occupied and entertained. It took very little doing on Spinelli's part to bring a smile to Morgan's face. He was naturally attracted to the man's odd demeanor, erratic behavior and perplexing language. If nothing else, it gave Morgan someone to play with and to cling to when he began to miss his brother too much.

"I'm going out for awhile. Carly's asleep upstairs, so try to keep it down. If she wakes up and needs me, make sure that someone calls me at the coffee shop," Jason told Spinelli. His Grasshopper, as Spinelli liked to think of himself, nodded dutifully and turned back to the race on the screen. Jason smiled and shook his head before heading out of the room. He was surprised when he felt a small tug at the back of his black t-shirt. Turning around, he found Morgan standing behind him, peering up at him with the same glittering dark eyes as Sonny. "What's up, Buddy?"

"Is Mommy okay?" he asked. "I heard her crying when Max brought her home. Is it because of Michael? I know that she cries sometimes because she misses him. Daddy told me that it's okay to cry when you're sad. I cry sometimes at night before I go to bed because I think about him. I miss him, too."

"We all do," Jason agreed quietly as he lifted the boy into a tight hug. Morgan buried his face in Jason's shoulder and held onto him as if his life depended on it. Jason was the only steady thing in the little boy's life, never wavering or changing. "You've been so good through all of this, Morgan. I want you to know how proud we are of you. Michael would be, too. I bet he's watching over you right now."

"Well, maybe he could watch over Mommy too," Morgan decided. "I think that she would like to know that Michael was her guardian angel. It might make her feel safe again. She wouldn't be so scared or sad all the time."

"Maybe," Jason hesitated, unsure what to say. They had all thought that Morgan was too young to understand, but maybe he was the most perceptive of all of them. "You know what else would make your mom happy? She'd be happy if she knew that you were having fun. Why don't you go back in there and play with Spinelli? When I get home, we can all go out for pizza, all four of us."

"Yay!" he squealed before hugging Jason one last time. Jason sat him back on the ground before he scampered off back toward the playroom. As he headed toward the front door, Jason heard him talking excited to Spinelli. "Jason said that we can all go out tonight for pizza, the whole family!"

_Family._ In some ways, it was a mixed bag of people now, their little family. They had Carly and Jason, best friends for more than a decade but hardly related in any real way. There was Jason and Spinelli, makeshift brothers after Jason had picked up the young man in Tennessee two years ago. There was Moran and Jason, a godparent relationship built around a friendship that was falling apart between Jason and Sonny. Other than Carly and Morgan, there wasn't any relativity involved. And yet, Jason felt that this was the most like a family he had ever had. There was only one person missing…

That thought was driving him when he stalked into Sonny's office a few minutes later. Sonny was on the phone with someone, having a hushed conversation. Jason listened for a minute and quickly deduced that it was Kate. It was hard for Jason to understand how his boss could be so nonchalant about the magazine editor. She had been the one to take Michael to the warehouse without Carly's permission. She was the one he had saved instead of his son. It took a great deal of effort for Jason not to take the snobbish woman. She seemed so useless to him, too beige and haughty to ever fit into this lifestyle. Still, he had always kept his mouth shut because it wasn't his business. He didn't really care what Sonny did as long as it didn't involve Carly or Morgan.

When Sonny hung up the phone with a curt thud, Jason looked up at him and thought they were in for quite an argument. Instead, he was surprised when Sonny's voice was even but firm. "I want to get out."

"What?" Jason asked. Of all the responses he had expected, he had never seen that one coming. Sonny had tried to walk away before, but it hadn't worked. After losing Lily and the baby, he had thought he could do it. He had tried to do it for Brenda. "You can't just get out of this life, Sonny, you know that better than anyone else. You've tried. What makes you think this time will be any different?"

"I have to do it for my children," Sonny replied coldly. Any trace of the long friendship that had outlasted nearly everything was long gone. Losing one of the boys or Carly was the only thing Jason could think of that would ever tear them apart. While it had pushed him toward Carly, it had ripped apart their tight bond of three. It was clear that Jason and Carly were on one side of the fence with Sonny far away on the other. "I am going to get out. I will sign over everything to you. I'll keep the stuff in Puerto Rico and the coffee business. You can have the rest."

Jason had dreaded this. The last thing he wanted to do was take over the business, but someone had to run things. It was too late for him to walk away. If he couldn't do it a year ago for his son, he wouldn't do it for anything. "Kristina and Morgan still won't be safe," he pointed out. "You're still connected. It's going to take time. People will still know. They'll know your connection to me. They know that I love your kids. You don't that you think this solves everything, do you?"

Sonny shrugged. "It's all I have right now. I am not signing over my rights to my children. Morgan and Kristina just lost their brother. They can't lose their father too."

"It's better they lose you than their lives," Jason argued bluntly. "You have to sign over your rights to Morgan. It's the best way to keep him safe."

"I'm not doing it," he repeated. "Diane is drawing up the papers to have everything transferred over to you. I'll have her let you know when things are ready."

"I don't want it," Jason shot back. He turned coldly from his former friend, pinching the bridge of his nose as he paced the floor. He could smell coffee brewing in the next room. He wished that he was at home, drinking coffee with Carly and Morgan and Spinelli in their sunny kitchen instead of here. "It only puts Morgan and Carly more at risk. I'm living with them."

"If she asks me to walk away, you're going to have to do it, too," Sonny muttered. "I know it's unthinkable, but if it's truly the only way they're going to be safe, you can't be in her life either. Morgan would be just as much at risk."

Jason considered it for a moment. If that's what it took to keep Morgan safe, he would do it. "I stepped aside to keep Jake safe and I would do the same thing for Morgan. If you will sign away your rights to him, I will agree to take over the business. I will also move out of the cottage and stay away from Carly and Morgan. If that is what it takes, I will do it. I'm not what's important here. They are."

Sonny considered the deal for a moment before coming out from behind his desk. He looked long and hard at the man that had fought by his side for so many years. They were almost strangers now, like people that used to know each other in a former life. In some ways, they probably were. "Alright, do we have a deal?"

Handing Sonny the custody papers, Jason nodded his head once. "We have a deal."

"The hell you do."

Both the men whirled around to find an irate, infuriated Carly standing at the door. Her eyes were red and swollen, showing signs of incessant crying since Jason had left her. Jason immediately forgot about the conversation and rushed to her side. Silver tears glinted in the corner of her blue orbs as he unconsciously brushed them away with his thumb. "I thought you were asleep."

"I woke up to find you gone, and I knew that you would come here," she said angrily. "I told you that this was my battle to fight, Jason. You can't fix this for me. I will not let you dictate the terms of my life any more than I will let him."

"I am doing what's best for you and Morgan," Jason replied. "It's the only way to keep you safe, Car. I'm doing this for you."

"Why don't you let me decide what's best for me?" she shouted. "You are my best friend, Jason. I am not going to walk way from you. You're fighting for me right now, but dammit, I am fighting for us."

Jason softened at her desperate plea. She reached out to pound on his chest but he grabbed her wrist and held it steadily. Carly relaxed under his gentle touch as he took her hand and pressed it to his racing heart. "I don't want what happened to Michael to happen to either of you," he whispered. "Carly, please, let me do this."

She shook her head. "No, let _me_ do this. I just got you back," she cried. "I lost my son. I lost my marriage. I lost another child a few months ago. The one thing that makes all this seem even a little bit wroth it is the fact that you are in my life. We are finally getting the chance that we almost missed. We don't talk about it, but we both know what's going on. I love you, Jase, please don't do this."

Many times in his life, Jason Morgan hadn't known what to say. He had kept his mouth shut tightly as to not give a reaction. He hated the thought of being vulnerable or emotional in front of anyone. However, in that moment, he knew exactly what to say. "I love you, too," he assured her, before wrapping his arms around her back. They had forgotten Sonny was in the room up until then, but as he pulled away from Carly, his focus returned to the mob boss. "It's over. I'm out of the business. I'm done."

"But…"

"Find someone else to clean up your messes," Jason evenly. "Or grow up and learn to take care of yourself. I don't really care anymore. I have my own life to take care of. I have a family now."


	11. Chapter 11

Jason sat alone in his office at the warehouse, staring vacantly at the workmen below. The past week had been the hardest of his life. Between watching his friendship with Sonny fall apart and trying to hold Carly together, he was absolutely worn out. Running on fresh Colombian brew and the few hours of sleep he managed to sneak once Carly had exhausted herself from crying, he knew that he was bound to fall apart at some point. The only thing he could do was hope that Carly was strong enough by then to help but him back together.

It had taken many hours of conversation for Jason and Sonny to reach an agreement on the business. Jason had wanted to only keep his interest in the coffee business, but Carly had encouraged him to think it over. He had spent the better part of a decade building this life, and he knew as well as she did that he didn't just want to walk away. People like Jason and Carly lived on adrenaline like most people lived on oxygen. Without the threat of danger around the next bend, they didn't know how to exist. Besides, Jason was good at this. He knew this life, he was comfortable with it. Other than loving Carly, he felt like it was the only thing he had ever been really good at.

And so, eventually Jason and Sonny had been able to agree on an equal partnership where they would both have a say in any move the organization made. There were still moments where Sonny would shout an order and Jason would have to quietly but firmly remind him that he didn't run things alone. It was hard for the man to get used to not being the boss anymore. Jason, however, felt a freedom that he hadn't felt in quite some time. It was a good feeling to be able to refuse Sonny's wishes. He had long known that he was more rational and patient than his boss, and with his newfound power, he planned on implementing the characteristics into every fiber of their business.

Those thoughts were running through his mind on the unusually mild Sunday morning as he sat poised behind his computer. He had come into the office to kill a few hours, telling Carly that he needed to catch up on some paperwork and look over a few orders. She hadn't wanted him to go, but in anticipation of the momentous events that lay ahead that afternoon, she had eventually begrudgingly relented before sending him off with a long, lingering embrace in the driveway. Jason hated to leave her, but he needed a break. He needed to talk time to himself and think about what he was going to have to do. It was always hard having to say goodbye.

Turning back to his monitor, the spreadsheet on the screen was a blur. He couldn't focus on the figures. If anyone had asked him, he would have told him exactly how much he didn't care about that quarter's sales numbers. He had more money than he or his family would ever need. It was just something to distract him, to fill the hours between waking up next to Carly and falling asleep with her in his arms again. After tapping a few notes into an email to Bernie, he was thinking about working on the next file when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket.

Pulling it from his jeans, he was not at all surprised when he saw her name flash on the screen. Smiling slightly, he flipped it over and greeted her. "Hey, what's going on?"

Carly's relieve sigh filled his ear. "I'm going crazy over here," she admitted sadly. "I don't want to go this afternoon, Jase. Can't we put it off for another week? It's not like it really matters. I'm not ready for this."

Carly had been putting this off since the day of the funeral. He had tried to convince her to go that very afternoon, but she had refused. She had people at the house to keep her busy. Since then, she had managed to use Morgan's soccer game, business at the hotel and lunch with her mom as an excuse. "Not going to work, Car," he told her softly. "You know that we have to do this. The arrangements have been made. Everyone is going to be there. It's time."

She wanted to fight with Jason, but she knew that he wouldn't push her if he wasn't absolutely sure that this was the best thing. "I love you, you know," she murmured. "I wouldn't have made it through this without you."

"I would've been lost without you," he agreed. Opening the top drawer of his desk, he pulled out the small wooden box and sat it on the surface in front of him. He ran his hands over the smooth mahogany finish, caressing the ornate carving of the baseball that adorned the top of the lid. He had spent two hours looking through the catalog before settling on this exact urn. "We have to say goodbye, Carly. We need for this to be over. If not for your sake or mine, we have to do it for Morgan. It's time that we start moving on for him."

From her place on the living room couch, Carly looked affectionately over at her younger son. He was sitting on the floor at the foot of the staircase, animatedly rolling a soccer ball back and forth with Spinelli. "Come home."

"I'll be there in ten minutes," he said without another word. He disconnected the call immediately before shoving the phone back in his pocket. It took little these days for her to summon him back to the cottage. It only took those exact words and he was on his way. He'd always been pretty much at her beckoned call anyhow, so not much had really changed. Without even clearing off his desk, he was out of his office. He barked a few orders at the guys who helped him at the office and was on his motorcycle within a few minutes.

When Jason got home, he could hear their voices drifting up the driveway before he was even at the house. Morgan was the loudest, his small voice an octave higher than his mother's. It seemed that Carly and Spinelli were teasing him about something, and Morgan was protesting. Peering through the living room window, he smiled to himself as the two teamed up against the five-year-old and began tickling him relentlessly. His giggles were comforting as laughter had been rare in the past month.

"What am I missing out on?" he grinned as he entered into the house. Tossing his keys on the table next to the door, he came immediately to the little boy's aid. Pulling Carly off her son, he began to tickle her in retaliation. Morgan joined in immediately, digging his tiny fingers into her sides. Spinelli tried to fight off his mentor half-heartedly, allowing Morgan to push him in an attempt to protect Jason. "Come on, Morgan. Get him!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Spinelli implored through his breathy chuckles. He had lost his breath from laughing so hard. "That's not fair, Little Dude. The Jackal was not prepared for your miniature but stealth hands. I do not deserve such torture!"

"Get him!" Jason prodded as Carly crawled away from him. He caught her around the waist and pulled her back to his lap. She half pretended to try to escape for Morgan's benefit but actually quite enjoyed being held so tightly by Jason. "Go for behind his knees, Morgan. That's his weakest spot."

"I know your weak spot," Carly purred his ear, reaching back to stroke the back of his neck. The short, baby-fine hairs at his nape pricked up instantly under her touch, sending shivers down his spine and straight to his groin. He'd always had that reaction when she was stroking him just like that. It was an innocent touch, something she could pull off even in church. Still, it conjured very risqué thoughts in Jason's head. "Ooh, it still works."

Jason stared at her through gritted teeth. "Dammit, woman, you know that it does," he grunted inaudibly, his voice so low that only she could hear him. She licked her lips and smiled proudly before doing it again. "If you're not careful, I am going to have to take you right here in the living room. The only person who would be happy about that is Dr. Winters because Morgan would need enough therapy for her to retire very well."

It was unusual for Jason to be so brash and open about his desires, but Carly had always brought that out in him. He couldn't help it around her. It was innate, completely natural and involuntary. "Sorry," she lied before laying a soft kiss on his cheek.

"We're still going," he insisted, easily reading her mind and intentions. "The whole Carly Babes routine never worked on me, remember? You could never resist me long enough to find that out, I guess."

She threw him a dirty look as she crawled off his lap, her chin jutted in defiance. "Come on, Morgan. We need to go get changed."

After a few minutes of protesting, Carly managed to wrangle her son up the stairs and out of earshot from Jason. He said on the hardwood floor for a moment after they had disappeared, wondering how he was going to do this. If they pretended like they had for the last half-hour, he could almost believe that they weren't about to say their final goodbye. However, like reality had a nasty habit of doing, life had come crashing back down on them.

"Stone Cold, are you okay?"

Jason nodded silently. "I'm fine," he promised. "I just got to get us through the rest of today and we'll be okay. I want this to be a good thing for her."

"You'll be there with her. Everything seems better for Carly when you're there," he pointed out. "She thrives on being around her family, you and the Little Dude. The Valkyrie is stronger than people give her credit for. I never knew where that strength came from before, but I see it now. It comes from knowing that you love her. It comes from you."

"Well, if I find out that you ever repeated these words to anyone, I will kill you, but she's the one who makes me strong. If it wasn't for Carly, I would have fallen apart a very long time ago," Jason confided. It was nice to have someone in his life he could talk about Carly with. "I want to thank you for spending so much time with Morgan. He really looks up to you."

"He's my family, why wouldn't I want to spend time with him?" Spinelli asked innocently. "I should be thanking you for allowing me to share my life with you guys. I know that I wouldn't have anything if it wasn't for you."

Looking up at where the box was sitting next to his keys, Jason knew that the family was still only partially complete. "Look, you know what we are going to do this afternoon. Carly and I are going to take Morgan to do a private ceremony before everyone else gets there. We want you to be there."

"No, that's private," Spinelli argued. "I don't belong there. Please don't feel like you have to invite me, Stone Cold. I appreciate just being included with the rest of the family."

"You are apart of our family. It was Carly's idea. She wants you there. She needs for you to understand what we're going through if you're going to be apart of us from this day on," Jason tried to explain. This vulnerability with him was very awkward at best, especially with another male. Still, with Spinelli, he knew that he could trust the young man not to judge him. "Look, sometimes you're like a brother to me and other times you're like a son. Either way, you're someone that matters very much to me. You know that Morgan adores you, and Carly absolutely loves you. Even if I didn't like you at all, that would be all the endorsement I would need to ask you to be part of our family. It's a hard thing for us to let someone into the inner circle. Just take it and show up."

Spinelli nodded silently but gratefully. He knew how much it took for his mentor to tell him those things. Few people got to see him like that, and Spinelli felt blessed to know that version of Jason. It wasn't the raw, stripped version that he reserved for Carly but it was probably to next closest thing. "I'll be there."

"Good, now, why don't you go rescue Carly and help Morgan finish getting ready?" he asked. "I could really use a minute alone with Carly."

The two men bounded up the stairs, heading in opposite directions of the hallway. Jason waited alone for a minute in the bedroom before Carly appeared. She pulled the door shut behind her as she sauntered across the room toward him. Her blue eyes were tired but lively. It was the first real spark he had seen there in quite some time. "I was summoned," she deadpanned before collapsing next to him on the mattress.

He reached over and pushed hair from her forehead. "I just wanted to tell you something."

"I already know everything about you," she rolled her eyes. "What could you have that was so urgent and couldn't wait until Morgan was dressed?"

"I love you," he offered simply, kissing the tip of her nose. "Is that enough?"

"It's more than enough," she proclaimed with a smile, "but hardly new news."

"Fine, I got more," he revealed dryly. He stood up from the bed and crossed over to his dresser. Pushing aside several pairs of socks, he pulled out a slim velvet box and held it up for her to inspect. She raised her eyebrow in response. "This is for you."

Carly wasn't sure what kind of gift you give a grieving mother on the day she is going to spread her deceased son's ashes, but she knew that Jason had spent a long time trying to figure it out. Flipping open the box, she found a silver linked bracelet. She pulled it out and held it flat in her palm. On each of the five links, there was a name engraved in Jason's careful and familiar scrawl. "Jase," she sighed, her voice breathy. It was absolutely beautiful. "Jason, Caroline, Michael, Morgan, Damian."

"Spinelli's real name," he acknowledged. "Flip it over." Carly turned the bracelet over and looked at the reverse engraving. Each link had a date on it. "Every one of those dates is something special. Those days are the dates of when we became a family."

Looking over them carefully, Carly recognized each and everyone. On Jason's, there was the date they first met. "That night at Jakes," she smiled, tracing the numbers. The fact that it was his handwriting made it even more intimate. On the next link, he had engraved her birthday. The same went for Morgan's. Michael's was the day that she held him for the first time. "I can't believe you remember the exact date."

"I remember everything about us," he whispered.

The last link, Spinelli's, was the date she had asked him to move into the cottage with them. As she turned it back over and clutched it in her fist, tears began to roll down her cheek. "It's perfect," she told him through the tears. He smiled and took the bracelet from her. She held out her arm for him to clasp it around her slender wrist. "Thank you."

Jason only shrugged. "You have nothing to thank me for," he assured her. "You're the one who made all of this possible – the one that gave us this family. I should thank you every day for the rest of my life."

"Our lives," she corrected him. "Remember, this is our life now."


	12. Chapter 12

The wind whipped around Morgan as he exited the plane, Jason just in front of him and Carly a step behind him. It had been a quick jaunt from Port Charles down to Florida, and the five-year-old boy had slept for most of the plane ride. Carly had sat next to him, absently stroking his hair as she watched him dream. The quiet moment was something she would remember years later when she finally told him every detail of how his older brother had died. A college student by then, it was the first time in many years he would allow his mother to hold him. It was also the first time in as many years that he had seen her break down. Jason had come and wrapped his arms around them both, acting as the singular support network that both of them had always relied on.

But back in the present, Morgan was still just a young child who didn't quite understand what he was doing standing a few feet from the ocean and being incapable of running into the surf. His mother held his hand tightly as Jason shifted a small box from one hand to the other. He looked up at his "uncle" and second father as he exchanged a long glance with his mother. Even if he didn't quite get what passed between them, Morgan understood that it was meaningful. Squeezing Carly's hand tighter, he brought her gaze down to his and smiled brightly. He would do anything to take away the sad look that dwelled so relentlessly in her eyes.

"Mommy, when can we go swimming?" he asked innocently, hoping that the prospect of fun would be enough to cheer her up. He wished that Michael was there with him to play in the ocean. He had always loved to splash Jason, who would just grumble before retaliating without holding back even a little bit. "Mercedes packed my new swimming trunks. You know, the ones that match Jason's!"

Carly smiled softly at her son, ruffling his hair absently. Jason had taken Morgan shopping the day before to pick up a few essentials. They had returned with several parcels filled to the hilt with new clothes and toys for the little boy. Carly had teasingly chastised Jason for spoiling him, but she had laughed in delight when her son paraded all their finds. And in a true fashion that Carly could pull off, she even managed to convince Jason to try on the matching plaid trunks that Morgan had insisted that they get. They were dark brown and light blue, matching the eyes of both her favorite guys. She couldn't wait to see them playing together in the waves, but first, they had to put this all behind them.

"In a little while," Jason answered patiently for her. He reached down to scoop the child up into his arms, slyly passing the box off to Carly. She tucked it under her arm tightly, careful not to let it slip out of her shaky grasp. Max and Mercedes trailed a few yards behind them, ever-present in case they needed help but far enough off to give the family privacy. Carly stopped suddenly turned around suddenly and looked at the young man trampling up behind them. With white oxide smeared across his nose and goggles hanging loosely around his neck, Spinelli reminded Jason of Gilligan. "Come on, Spinelli! We can't wait all day."

"My deepest apologies to Stone Cold and the Valkyrie," he proclaimed as he jogged up slowly beside Carly. She threw him an amused smile and shrugged nonchalantly. "I wanted to make sure I had all of the Namesake's toys. We have a full day ahead of us."

"Yeah, we do," Carly deadpanned quietly before bowing her head to stare at the sand below. Jason reached out automatically to wrap a comforting arm around her waist. She leaned into his body as they padded across the private beach toward Michael's favorite cove. Until last night, Carly hadn't known that Jason had bought their piece of Florida heaven a decade ago, just after their first visit. He had kept it a secret from everyone, even Sonny. It was something that was just theirs, and he knew that someday they would come back there as a family. He just hadn't counted on missing Michael on their return journey. "Jase, why don't you let them have the rest of the day off? I just want it to be the four of us."

He nodded in acknowledgement before turning around to address their most trusted bodyguard and nanny. "Hey, guys, I think we're going to take this from here," he told them. "You both can have the rest of the day off. There is staff up at the house waiting for our arrival. You can stay there and relax or head off into the city."

"Thanks, Boss," Max retorted before stepping forward. He hugged Carly intently, searching his mind for the right words for the moment. He and Milo had said their goodbyes to Michael at a private ceremony held with the immediate family back in Port Charles. This moment was more about Carly and Jason saying goodbye to their son. "If you need anything…"

"Thank you, Max," she murmured as he pulled back. She studied him for a moment before continuing. "Not just for this but for everything you have done for my boys and me over the past ten years. Michael loved you very much, so I hope that you know how much you meant to him. Morgan is very fortunate to get to still have you in his life."

Max nodded as he started off toward the house. Mercedes made her goodbyes quick to Morgan before following after the burly guard. Carly turned away so that she didn't have to watch them leave. Mercedes and Max were definitely apart of the family, and she felt guilty about asking them to leave. However, she wanted this to be just for the four of them. She needed this ending to be yet another beginning for them.

Jason pulled on her hand to lead her forward. Spinelli quietly flanked her other side, occasionally bumping her shoulder as they trekked along the shore. "Maybe the Jackal should head up to the house, too," he decided suddenly. Carly stopped, her face stricken at the thought. "It was just a suggestion. I don't want you to feel obligated to have me along."

"We need you there, Spinelli," Carly assured him calmly. "You are in this family, and you are never under obligation with family. Morgan was born to me, he is my child. I couldn't be happier about that, but I'm also happy that you are in our family. You're special because we got to choose you to be in our family. Trust me, you wouldn't be here if we didn't want you to be."

Spinelli grinned at the very thought of being chosen to be apart of this amazing family. It may be an unconventional foursome, but he had never seen someone love as much or as deeply as these two. Having never really had parents that he could depend on, it was nice to have Carly and Jason around to love him so unconditionally. As an only child, he valued having Morgan look up to him. "Thank you," he told her with a smile, reaching around to give her a side hug. He started to move around to hug Stone Cold, but Jason quickly stopped him. "Sorry, I just got excited."

"It's okay," he said dismissively. His eyes suddenly went dark as he looked just ahead of where they were walking. Just over the small hill, he knew that the cove awaited them. They had decided that should be Michael's final resting place. There was a place in the crypt in Port Charles so that they could have a place to memorialize and visit, but this is where Carly wanted to set his soul free. "We're almost there."

Carly had dreaded this moment since they had boarded their private jet back in New York. She had tried to busy herself with Morgan or a stack of fashion magazines, but her mind remained focused on this moment. Part of her still wasn't ready to let go. It was very likely that she would never be completely ready. Just as she was about to reply to Jason, Morgan squirmed free from his arms and jumped into the sand. "Let's race!" he cried, taking off as quickly as his little feet would carry him. "The last one there is a rotten egg!"

Spinelli didn't give the other two adults any time to reply before taking off after the kid. Kicking off his flip flops, he tossed them in his beach bag and sprinted down the sand. Carly and Jason hung back for a moment, exchanging contented smiles as they watched the two chase after each other toward the cove. Then, Carly pulled off her sandals and tossed them into her satchel before jetting off next. Jason shouted in protest as he followed her, nipping at her heels. Finally, he managed to reach her, catching her by the waist and pulling her down to the sand with him. "Hey, no fair!" she protested as he trapped her beneath his body. He huddled over her teasingly, smiling boastfully as she turned away from his advancing kiss. "You cheated."

"Well, I did promise that I would always catch you," he reminded her before pressing his lips to hers. He swallowed her argument with his kiss. Carly expertly snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. She maneuvered her body beneath his quickly and managed to flip him on his back. Never breaking the kiss, she waited until he was on top and in control before smiling against his mouth. "Wait, how did this happen."

"And I promised you that I would always come up with a plan," she said proudly before crawling off him. She looked ahead to where Spinelli and Morgan were standing just at the cusp of the cove. "Come on, I want us to go down there together."

He didn't say anything as he jogged after her. She grabbed Morgan's hand and took off down the sandy hill. Spinelli launched himself after her, running alongside Morgan. Jason was on her other side by the time they reached the private beach nook. "Wow, it's really beautiful here," Spinelli breathed, his language finding a coherent pattern for once. "Why did you pick this place?"

Jason looked out over the clear blue ocean as he fell to the sand. He reached up for Carly's hand and pulled her down between his legs, never breaking his gaze from the waves. "This is the first vacation Michael ever went on," he explained. "Carly and I brought him down here when he was just a baby, and he loved it. She thinks that he fell in love with the ocean here. Either way, I know that he was absolutely happy."

Morgan listened carefully to the story. He had heard his mother tell the story about the first year of Michael's life many times. "Michael loved to run in the waves really fast so that the wind was in his face," he remembered. "He would always help me make these big splashes. We used to get Daddy really wet when we would go to the island, especially when we were on the boat."

"I remember that," Carly smiled reminiscently. Some of her favorite memories were with Sonny and the boys on the island. Other favored memories included Jason and her sons there. "We'll have to go down there again soon."

No one said anything for a few moments, allowing a comfortable silence to fall over the family. Finally, Jason reached for Carly's bag and pulled out the sacred box. He opened the lid and removed the four satin pouches. He kept one for himself and then passed along the others to Spinelli, Morgan and Carly. "How do you want to do this?"

Looking over the waves crashing along the shoreline, Carly knew that this was finally the moment. She had thought long and hard about this specific moment. She knew exactly how this was supposed to happen. Jumping to her feet, she reached for Spinelli and pulled him up. Then, she did the same to Jason and Morgan until they were all four standing on the sand together. "Let's go play!" she declared, winding the bag around her wrist. She didn't wait for them as she sprinted into the cool spray, allowing the salty water to splash around her tanned legs. "Come in, the water is perfect."

Taking Morgan's hand, Jason jogged down toward the surf. Spinelli followed them hesitantly, unsure exactly what was happening. Carly played innocently in the waves, laughing from the pit of her stomach like a little kid. Jason, Spinelli and Morgan watched her playing alone, and then one by one joined her in the Atlantic Ocean. Each of them had their satin bag around their wrist.

"I'm going to swim out a little further," she decided before diving under the water. Carly had grown up swimming in this very ocean as a kid in Florida. She missed being able to run to the beach on a whim and lose herself in the salt water and waves. It was usually too cold to swim in Port Charles. When she finally tired herself out, she started to tread water and turned back to watch the boys play. Morgan and Spinelli had teamed up against Jason in a full blown splash war. The three of them laughed as they tried to dunk and soak one another. "This is perfect."

Swimming back, she finally felt the peace everyone had told her would come. For the first time, Carly felt like she could let go to the emotional pain that had been weighing her down. As she reached Jason, she felt as strong as he had believed her to be all along. "Let's say goodbye."

He smiled and took her hand, taking a long moment just to stare into her crystal blue eyes. The boys quit splashing, sending a contented peace through the air. Morgan was the first to remove the bag from his wrist. He carefully undid the loose knot and held it in the air. "No matter what, Michael, we will remember you forever," he promised. "Watch over Kristina and me. We will always love you." Carly watched proudly as her youngest son released his ashes into the ocean. He reached down and swirled the water around him until the grey dust disappeared before them.

Spinelli was next to open his sash. He carefully poured the ashes into his palm before clutching his fist shut. "Everything that I do as apart of this family will be in your honor," he avowed. The first tear found its way down Carly's cheek. Neither she nor Jason made any attempt to wipe it away. "Thank you for casting sunshine on my life, even if it was just for the briefest of times." As he spoke his final words, Spinelli opened his fingers and let the wind off the water sweep the ashes into the air.

Everyone was silent as Jason took off his bag. He untied the silk cord and held it loosely in his free hand. "I have never been good at saying the right thing. In fact, for the longest time, I thought that there wasn't a whole lot that I was good at," he remembered. "And then you came along and made me realize that there was one thing that I was very good at. I was really good at loving you, Michael. I was a better man for having loved and been loved by you. You were my first son, and you are the reason that I learned to be a father."

For his release, Jason clutched the ashes in his hand and turned away from the family. He disappeared under the water for a moment before returning with a fairly flat sea rock. Turning sideways, he launched the rock out along with the ashes and watched it skip over the clear water. It bounced several times before sinking below the water. "I taught him to skip rocks," he explained. "Our record was twelve." Everyone laughed briefly as the watched the place where the rock had sunk.

"Well, I guess it's my turn, Mr. Man," Carly said up toward the heavens as she slipped her bag from her wrist. It took awhile for her hands to stop shaking long enough to undo the knot, but she finally managed to get her ashes. "You, more than any other person, changed my life for the better forever. On the day that you were born, I was resurrected in a lot of ways. Before you, I had almost forgotten that there was any good in the world, but your presence in my life allowed my happiness to be reborn. It was like my old transgressions were washed away, kind of like a baptism. That's exactly how I feel about today. I will go into the water one person and come out another. Either way, whoever I am will always love you, Michael. In the beginning, it was you and me, and in the end, I promise you that we will all be there together – just the way that it was meant to be."

With those final words, Carly took a deep breath and submerged below the surface. She stayed there for several seconds, releasing the last of Michael's remains into the water. She whispered goodbye before pushing back up for air. When she emerged, Carly knew that her baptism had occurred. She looked at Spinelli and then Morgan and then Jason, her smile growing as she met the eyes of each of her men. "I love you all," she professed. "Thank you for sharing in this."

Over the next several hours, the new Morgan family played in the surf until they were completely worn out. One by one, they departed from the ocean for the comforting stillness of the shore. Morgan fell asleep first in the middle of the row of beach towels, his little mouth hanging open in utter exhaustion. Spinelli soon joined him, throwing his hand over his face to block out the sun as he fell into a restful slumber. It didn't take Carly much longer before she crawled for their peaceful beach haven. She pulled her floppy hat over her eyes and allowed the sun's warm rays to blanket her. Jason sat beside them, keeping vigil over the people that he loved most.

Just as he was about to settle on his back, Carly pulled away the hat and looked up at him for a long time. Reaching up with her right hand, she hooked his neck and brought his face down to hers. "Marry me when we get home," she told him in a hushed whisper. Her statement didn't need a reply, only a wide grin from Jason. He kissed her softly as he lay down beside her. She reached down and threaded their fingers together. "I love you."

"I love you," he echoed, brushing a kiss over the knuckle of her left ring finger. "How did I get so lucky? Look at all I have."

Carly shook her head and grinned as she looked at the two boys sleeping on her other side. Then, looking back at Jason, she said the only words left to hear. "No, Jase, look at all we have."

_Fin._


End file.
